Park closed for elk management through limited hunting

Boulder County, Colo. - Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain will be closed to the public weekly from Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2020, through Jan. 27, 2021, for the Boulder County Commissioner-approved elk management program, which includes limited hunting. The commissioners approved a three year extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan at a public hearing on March 30.

If hunters are successful early in the week, the park will be reopened the following day. The park will also be open to the public:

• Monday, Nov. 23, through Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving week)
• Monday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Dec. 23 (Christmas week)
• Monday, Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

Three hunters per week have been granted an access permit by Boulder County to hunt this specific area only during this management period. Each hunter was selected through a random drawing of CPW-licensed hunters who obtained the subunit antlerless license (hunt code E-F-020-L3-R) and who then declared interest in this program. Hunters were required to attend an orientation class and pass a shooting proficiency test.

This hunting program is solely and specifically permitted as a resource management tool. There is no cost to the hunter beyond their CPW license and Boulder County does not receive any revenue. Recreational hunting at Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain or any other open space property is strictly prohibited.

For more information about this program and the management goals at Ron Stewart Preserve, please visit boco.org/elk or contact Jenny Dalton, Boulder County Parks & Open Space Elk Management Hunt Coordinator, at jdalton@bouldercounty.org.

Elk herd at Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain