36 2023 Annual Report
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Management
Game and Parks responds to expanding
elk range by adding management units
In an effort to meet the current needs of the state, Nebraska Game and Parks
reorganized its elk unit boundaries in 2023 with input from hunters and landowners.
Over the past 40 years, elk have expanded their range across Nebraska, and within
the past five to 10 years, have expanded beyond their traditional habitat of timbered
rough topography into areas that have less traditional support.
To address this issue, Game and Parks worked with hunters and landowners to put
harvest pressure on herds in those areas. However, fewer elk were harvested in the
areas than desired, and so exploring management unit boundary changes became
necessary.
During the fall and winter of 2022-23, Game and Parks hosted two public meetings
and took public comment on the proposal, which involved narrowing the boundaries
around the traditional elk habitat and making the peripheral areas their own units.
Landowners and hunters who participated in the process overwhelmingly
supported the proposal and contributed input on boundaries that was incorporated
into the final result.
As of the close of the 2023 bull season at the end of October, 53 elk had been
harvested in the new units compared to 28 for the full season a year ago. The results
of this change will continue to be analyzed and any problematic boundary areas will
be addressed for the 2024 season.
New boundaries address
issues associated with an
expanded elk home range.
