The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It could really be a win-win situation”
Money may be tight for many in the Gunnison Valley and jobs are in pretty short supply, but there is one resource this county has in abundance that could make life easier for some of the area’s most needy families.
According to Colorado Division of Wildlife estimates, there are nearly twice as many elk in the Gunnison Basin as there should be, and County Assistant Director of Public Works and local sportsman Allen Moores hopes to move some of those animals from an overgrazed range into some local freezers.
Moores first approached the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners last November about establishing a non-profit company that could move donated elk meat to the local food pantry, and about getting some logistical help.
“It could really be a win-win situation for everybody involved,” Moores told the commissioners. “There’s an elk population problem in the Gunnison Basin and in order to bring that population down the Division [of Wildlife] has stated that they’re going to see if we can kill some extra elk. So I’m trying to let the community benefit off of that surplus.
“It’s an idea I’ve thrown around and I decided it was time to jump in with both feet and get ‘er done,” he explained.
An elk can yield about 200 pounds of ground burger, depending on the size of the animal. The Department of Health and Human Services told Moores there is a demand and a need for fresh meat in the basin.
But there is a lot of legwork to be done to get an elk harvested by a hunter to a processing plant, processed and back to a food pantry. Moores is finding plenty of people willing to help.
“Everybody I’ve talked to has been willing to jump in and help,” Moores said. “Everybody I’ve talked to thinks it’s going to be a positive program.”
And the county is no exception, offering Moores legal assistance in bringing the non-profit to fruition.
When asked if his staff had enough time to help, County Attorney David Baumgarten said, “[Our office] is not infinitely elastic, but I’m actually embracing it. There has been enough fuss over this issue [of elk overpopulation] in the last two or three years and this is a great way of mending fences.”
In the year leading up to the release of the Department of Wildlife’s Five-Year Big Game Season Structure, there was a lot of discussion and debate between area ranchers and sportsmen over limiting the number of elk licenses issued in an effort to reduce elk numbers.
Moores’ plan is still being smoothed over with the DOW, and he hopes to meet with area wildlife manager J Wenum soon to discuss his idea. Other meat might come from out-of-town hunters who come to the area for the hunting experience, but not the meat.
“I’m trying to streamline it enough so that donating meat does not become a big issue, since it’s going through a non-profit organization,” Moores said. “What I’m envisioning is some way that the Division could work with us and say, ‘Here are so many slips good for so many elk,’ and a hunter can take an animal to a locker [processing] plant with that slip, and they’ll accept that knowing that we have the money to back that slip, and then just call us when the meat is processed and ready.”
Moores said he wouldn’t be teaming up with any of the local sportsmen’s clubs, but he would let them know that the program is in place and “If somebody wanted to donate that elk, great. We’ll take care of it for you. I’ve got a lot of people who are willing to do the leg work, but it will be a matter of bringing the donations in,” he said.
Although Moores has found two local federally inspected game processors that are offering a discounted rate, it will still cost around $1.85 a pound to have the animals processed. Transportation to and from the processing plant is also something that Moores has been considering.
So to handle the donations necessary to run the operation, Moores is establishing a non-profit that could take up to six months to clear through the Internal Revenue Service.
“Two thumbs-up to you, Allen,” commissioner Hap Channell said. “There is real potential for creating a great program here.”
