Park officials are preparing to start culling elk in mid-December.  The Elk and Vegetation Plan was finalized last December and will guide management for the next 20 years.  The plan includes fencing, redistribution, and population monitoring as well as culling.

Bob Bobowski, chief of resource stewardship at Rocky Mountain National Park says, "We’re not going to cull any bulls at all.  We expect to take those that present an opportunity that is safest for personnel and the herd they are with. It is not our intent to take calves because it is hard to discriminate sex.”

Meat will be donated to eligible recipients, and tribes.  Participants in the culling will also be eligible for meat via a lottery system.

Culling locations are to be determined on a day-to-day basis and rangers are available to advise visitors on which areas will be closed during culling.  These areas will be closed for short periods of time and will take place during early moring hours on weekdays.

The plan will also have elk-proof fences being built around Horseshoe and Moraine Parks allowing willow and aspen stands to recover.  “Long-term goals for vegetation will be re-evaluated every five years,” said Bobowski.  Another population survey is planned for this winter to help decide on how many elk to cull next year.

The elk will also be tested with a fertility control vaccine that may be effective for up to four years.  RMNP has partnered with Colorado State University to study the impact of the vaccine on free-ranging elk.  The vaccine has proven effective in a captive elk population.  It is reported that there are no significant side effects.  It costs $15-$20 per dose.  Approximately half the female elk population will be injected with the vaccine.

To volunteer - http://www.nps.gov/romo/parkmgmt/evmp_volunteer_info.htm

Kevin Pellini was struck and killed by a falling tree Friday, October 24th in Grand Lake, Colorado. The tree was a pine beetle kill and is the first reported fatality involving a tree which is a part of the pine beetle epidemic.

Pellini was an employee of the National Park Service (RMNP) and had worked on the trails program from 1983-2006.  Vaughn Baker recalled, “Kevin Pellini was a cherished colleague and friend who brought great enthusiasm and a can-do attitude to everything he did. Thousands of park visitors have benefited from the work Kevin did to improve the trails on the west side of RMNP.

“Kevin will be fondly remembered for his larger than life presence and his dedication to his work, his community and his family and friends. He met his wife Sonya while they both were working at the park.

“Kevin began in the trails program at RMNP directly from high school at age 18, and worked in the program for twenty-three years from 1983 to 2006. He led the park's westside trails program from 1992 to 2006, when he left the park to start his own business.

“The park family extends our deepest sympathies to the Pellini family, especially Sonya, daughter Gabrielle and son Russell.”

Two weeks prior to this accident another man was struck by another pine beetle-killed tree.  He escaped with minor injuries.

Source: SkiHi Daily News