The process of developing a limited hunting season for the management of Missouri's elk herd is moving along, and hunters could get their first opportunity to pursue them in the fall of 2020.
At the Conservation Commission meeting last week, MDC cervid biologist Aaron Hildreth laid out for the commission not only the current status of the state's elk herd, but also what work has been done so far to implement a future management plan, which, from the beginning of the restoration program, was to include hunting.
In his presentation, Hildreth told the commission the elk are doing well, with an estimated adult population of 170 animals, plus whatever calves were born this spring.
During the first few years after the elk were released onto the Peck Ranch Conservation Area, survival rates were somewhat lower than other eastern populations, but that trend has improved significantly and Missouri's herd now is right in line with other states.
The slow-growing herd necessitates the need for a management plan, and MDC officials are in the planning process to implement one.
Several benchmarks were set early on with the idea to create a limited hunting season for elk, including population size, bull-to-cow ratios and annual herd growth.
Before a hunting season could be developed, biologists determined there must be at least 200 animals, the herd should be growing at least 10 percent annually and there should be at least 25 bulls for every 100-plus cows.
Today, that reality is near. Based on the most recent population survival, calving and other data, biologists believe the 200-elk threshold could be reached in 2019 or 2020.
Developing a hunting season is a multi-step, detailed process and won't come quickly.
The first step, Hildreth said, is to engage the public and seek its input on the management plan.
Several factors must be considered, including specific hunt areas, hunting methods (archery and/or firearms with minimum specifications), harvest quotas, hunter quotas, season timing, permits and harvest regulations.
Permit considerations alone could include whether they should be offered to residents only or if non-residents can hunt elk. An application process must also be developed, and it must be determined if someone can be drawn more than once or if an elk permit would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Landowner permits also must be considered.
Starting next month and continuing through January, Hildreth said, MDC will reach out to the public for its input before the department develops a plan over the winter.
That plan would be presented to the regulations committee in January of 2019 and then to the Conservation Commission in February.
If approved, the legal rulemaking process would be finalized during the spring and summer months.
An outreach and education campaign to inform the public would take place in early 2020, and in July of that year, the first application period for a managed elk hunt later that fall could be implemented.
At this point, however, it's important to remember the hunting season timeline is fluid and depends on the elk herd reaching, and maintaining, those pre-defined criteria for establishing a season. The herd is well on its way to getting there, so a season looks to be just around the corner.