Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain
Elk & Vegetation Management Plan

Elk were largely absent from the hunt area throughout the entire hunt season, resulting in the lowest harvest rates in the program’s eight year history. While the Stone Canyon Fire and the on-going mine reclamation work at Dowe-Flats likely contributed to the dramatic decline, these results are a continuation of a trend over the past several years. Surveys with Coloardo Parks and Wildlife have found few elk in the area indicating success in reaching management objectives for this herd and these properties.

• Season began Oct. 7, 2024 and ended on Jan. 31, 2025.
• 24 hunters participated in the program.
• 1 harvest on Rabbit Mountain.

• Season began Sept. 18, 2023 and ended Jan. 28, 2024.
• 25 hunters participated.
• Elk were largely absent from Ron Stewart Preserve throughout the 14-week management hunt, as evidenced by 6 total hunter harvests during that time—this is down from a high of 31 elk harvested by hunters in 2018. Overall, these most recent harvest numbers and general scarcity of elk at Ron Stewart Preserve are strong evidence of the success of this program and continues a trend seen since 2018.
• 6 harvests
  • 2 harvests on Rabbit Mountain
  • 4 harvests on Indian Mountain
  • 0 harvests on the Cushman property or agriculture properties.

• Season began Sept. 19, 2022 and ended Jan. 29, 2023.
• 49 hunters participated.
• 3 harvests
  • 3 harvests on Rabbit Mountain
  • 0 harvests on Indian Mountain
  • 0 harvests on the Cushman property or agriculture properties.

• Season began Sept. 20, 2021 and ended Jan. 30, 2022.
• Staff completed three on-site hunter orientations held on Saturday, Sept. 11, Wednesday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Oct. 9.
• 49 hunters participated.
• 14 harvests
  • 4 harvests on Rabbit Mountain
  • 8 harvests on Indian Mountain
  • 1 harvest on the Cushman Property
  • 1 harvest on Parks & Open Space agriculture properties.
• 28.6% success rate.

Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 21 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting but was open to the public during the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Updates

• Season began Sept. 21.
• Staff completed three on-site orientations at Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain held on Saturday, Sept. 12, Wednesday, Sept. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 10.
• 41 hunters have participated.
• 18 harvests.
• 44% success rate.

Permitting Results

• 85 hunters declared interest in hunting Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain.
• 190 hunters declared interest in hunting both Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain and Red Hill.
• 51 hunters and 20 alternates were selected through a random draw.
• 13 hunters successfully drew both hunts, whether selected to hunt or selected as an alternate.

Herd Distribution

• Approximately 116 elk were counted on Jan. 30 with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
• There have been no recent counts as we have been waiting for corn harvest.
• Animals are distributed across the landscape during the rut, including west of Indian Mountain and at points inside Larimer County.
• Additional counts are scheduled for this fall and winter.

Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 9 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting but remained open to the public during the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When management activities ceased early in the week, staff were able to open Ron Stewart Preserve early to the public on seven occasions.

Updates

• 56 hunters
• 27 harvests
• 48% success rate
• Approximately 116 elk were counted on Jan. 30 with Colorado Parks and Wildlife
• Additional elk ground counts will occur in February and March
• Staff continued to collect vegetative data
• Staff recruited volunteers to assist with hazing efforts during the spring and summer outside of calving season

Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 17 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting.

Updates

• 31 of 57 hunting sessions resulted in successful harvests.
• Staff and volunteers built two small exclosures to keep elk out of overused areas. The areas will be rehabilitated and reseeded.
• Staff continued collecting vegetative data.
• CPW added two radio collars (total 7) on elk to track movements.
• The high elk count this winter was 168, that is 100 lower than last year, and 200 lower than pre-elk and vegetation management.

Elk Trapping & Radiocollars

One important feature of management is radiotracking. It is important to know where these animals are, when they are there (and when they are not there), and what kinds of moves they make, daily and seasonally. We work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to capture, collar, and follow these animals across the landscape.

We like to have a representative segment with collars to describe the range and movements. They also help us find and count groups (collars are not usually alone). Our counts are important metrics to help us reach our management goals. As radiocollars run out of battery life, collars fail, or animals die, we need to trap each winter to keep that representative sample size collared. We begin shortly after the end of the last hunting season for the subunit area (centered around Rabbit Mountain) and try to trap until we have reached our number, or the safe trapping period for pregnant cow elk ends (usually around April 1). The radiocollars allow us to monitor movements and distribution throughout the year – and from year to year, as we proceed with the plan.

Data from the radiocollars shows our efforts are working. We are seeing fewer elk overall that spend less time on Rabbit Mountain and cause less damage to the natural resources, agricultural resources, and private landowners.

Elk are trapped in a large, walk-in cage. They are blindfolded and given oxygen while they are tagged.

Hunting

Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 11, 2017, through Jan. 29, 2018, for limited hunting. Only two hunters per week with access permits were allowed on the property during that time. Hunters were also permitted on Indian Mountain and the Cushman property, both of which are closed to the public.

Hunters first had to secure a GMU 20 tag for the Rabbit Mountain area (E-F-020-L3-R). All of those subunit tag holders were then offered an opportunity to opt into our access program. They then applied for a specific week in which to hunt through our website. All hunters who drew a 2017 Rabbit Mountain Access Permit were then also required to attend a shooting proficiency test and on-site orientation.

• Hunting season ended Jan. 31, 2018.
• 32 hunters participated.
• 27 of 37 hunter sessions were successful (15 on Rabbit Mountain, seven on Cushman, five on Indian Mountain). Some hunters had more than one session.
• Some hunters on Ron Stewart Preserve were successful on the first day. We kept the property closed for the three days to reduce public confusion.
• Hunters in the sub-unit, but outside of Ron Stewart Preserve, were more successful than previous years with at least 31 additional elk harvested on private property.

Communications and Public Feedback

• Hunters attended one of two hunter orientations and took a proficiency tests before their assigned week. The last hunter orientation was Saturday, Oct. 28.
• Many participants provided positive feedback on how well organized the program was implemented.
• Social Media and Public Feedback were very light.
  • Fewer than 10 emails about the implementation, mostly about the Ron Stewart Preserve closure.
  • Early comments on Facebook among five people, half supported and half opposed.

Telemetry/Counts

• The winter high count from this year was 260 elk. That is down from 360 elk last year and significantly lower than the growth-curve projected 600 elk without intervention.
• Collared elk activity shows animals spreading out much more since intervention began.

Radio Collars

• Initiated live-trapping to replace radio collars on elk.
• Six new radio collars placed on elk.
• This effort also disturbed the elk to keep them moving.

Hazing and Fencing Activities

• Fences were installed around the two high use areas.
• Hazing took take place in spring (April 15 through May 18) to get the elk to move from the high use areas. Hazing was resumed in the summer (June 26 through September 3). Observations of hazing show that the elk leave the property, then return within a day or two, sometimes even the same day.
• We will be comparing elk movements from the radio collars with the hunting and after hazing.

Management Plan Update and Extension

On May 20, 2025, the Board of County Commissioners approved an extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan through 2029-30.

• Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan Requested Extension and Amendments

Management Plan Timeline Change and Extension

On February 24, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners approved a three year extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan. The extension allowed hunting through the 2024-25 hunting season and combined approval of the Red Hill Elk Herd Management Plan so both programs are on the same approval timeline.

• Public Hearing Details

Management Plan Amendment

On June 15, 2021, the Boulder County Commissioners approved an amendment to the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan. Parks & Open Space tenants experiencing elk-specific game damage will be eligible for lethal removal assistance from hunters in the elk management program. Only specific subunit license holders who have successfully completed the hunter proficiency and orientation will be eligible.

• Management Plan
• Approved Amendment
• Watch the June 15 Meeting

Management Plan Extension

On Monday, March 30, 2020, the Boulder County Commissioners approved a three-year extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve Elk & Vegetation Management Plan with the caveat that hunting will cease once herd objectives are met.

• Approved Addendum
• Watch the March 30 Meeting

Original Management Plan

On Aug. 22, 2017, the Boulder County Commissioners approved the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan. The plan outlines strategies to manage a sustainable elk population on Ron Stewart Preserve and surrounding areas through adaptive management. While the plan does allow limited, controlled hunting of the Rabbit Mountain elk herd as a management tool, it does NOT allow recreational hunting on this or any other open space properties.