The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Division of Wildlife still struggling with invasive species in Blue Mesa
With a moderate amount of snow in the high country, J Wenum, area wildlife manager for the Division of Wildlife, told the Board of County Commissioners Monday, February 9, that the same deer herds that were in dire straights last year are currently “fat and healthy,” and spread throughout their winter ranges.
“The winter conditions to date have been good for the herds. The cold and snow from December just hasn’t panned out and deer are really scattered right now,” he said.
He said the recent aerial census of the region’s herds showed deer living as high as 9,500 feet in elevation, which is higher than what was possible last year, and healthy, “surprisingly large” herds of elk.
Although the data on the number of animals harvested during last year’s hunting season won’t be ready until the end of the month, Wenum said early estimates and information gathered in the field point to a relatively poor harvest.
“It wasn’t just here or in western Colorado. It was a poor harvest in a significant portion of the west,” he said.
Wenum told the commissioners that the low number of animals harvested during hunting season, coupled with the number of elk and deer thriving in this year’s mild winter, should make for a “banner year this coming fall.”
The DOW also put tracking collars on 60 does and 60 fawns to get a better idea of the where deer herds travel in the winter, how many die and from what.
For the second consecutive winter, the DOW also trapped and collared several bighorn sheep that had previously been trapped in the Taylor Park area last year. Wenum said the sheep are caught in nets and sedated so blood tests can be done and vaccinations given.
“The herd in Taylor Park had at least 38 out of 60 individuals die off last winter. That’s a pretty steep number and we found out that it was largely due to pneumonia that we got treated with the vaccination. So we just wanted to get them a second round [of vaccinations] this year,” said Wenum.
He said so far, all of the attending veterinarians and wildlife officials have been pleased to see that the sheep herd appears to be healthy.
Moose is another species that looks to be in good shape. Wenum said there are between 12 and 20 moose in Taylor Park and about as many in the La Garita Wilderness, both of which were sites for studies last year.
One was a vegetative study meant to determine the carrying capacity of the areas based on how much food would be available to individual moose. Wenum said the findings suggest that there is plenty of vegetation to support moose in both study areas and there is likely enough to support hundreds of moose.
“In the new management plan for those areas, there are no hunting opportunities for moose in [game management unit] 66 and we would like to expand the restriction to GMU 67,” he said.
Good management practices and cooperation from towns where wildlife ordinances were passed have led to an active bear population that is still sleeping the winter away in hibernation.
Wenum said that sound trash storage practices and an abundant food supply in the mountains kept many bears out of sight last year, but he said he wouldn’t make any predictions about this spring.
One area where wildlife management practices were being challenged was among aquatic species, particularly those in Blue Mesa Reservoir. Several invasive species, like the zebra and quagga mussel, have been spread among the largest of the reservoirs in Colorado.
Wenum said the National Parks Service has already arranged for personnel to be stationed around the reservoir to check boats for either mussel species before they enter the water.
Another introduced species, the perch, was illegally introduced in the 1980s and only recently has the catch rate slowed down, indicating fewer numbers.
Wildlife officials are hoping that is a result of predation by healthy populations of lake and brown trout, which provide recreational fishing opportunities for anglers. Fewer perch for food could also lead to a decline in either species.
Wenum said recent surveys have shown a drop in the number of lake trout in the reservoir, which could be the result of fewer small fish to feed on, whether they are perch or Kokanee Salmon fingerlings.
“We did a sample this spring for lake trout to measure growth rates and size. After that we have some concerns about what we’re seeing: the growth rates have slowed. Kokanee Salmon and Lake trout have a symbiotic relationship. If Kokanee drops off lake trout will do the same. We’re trying to avoid that,” he said.
Wenum said he would return to the county commissioners meeting room to discuss the big game season structure and the possibility of limiting elk tags for next season at a public hearing February 24.
