Freeranging Elk in Texas?

[Huntjunkie]

I just read an article about free ranging Elk in Texas. I had no idea we had any. The twenty dollar question is does anyone know of any place they are that is public land? I did a little google search but had no luck.

[1FREAK]

free range under a high fence

[TexaswBOWhunter]

We have free range elk on our lease in Kerr county... I am not sure as to where you would find them on public land. I am sure the elk that we have were in a high fence operation at one time but they aren't any more....

[keep]

There are free range in the Davis Mtns. Most are on private land and the owners are not hunting them in hopes of the population growing. Texas has not designated them a game animal so they can be shot just like hogs. The Rocky Mt Elk Foundation is trying to get that changed and is also helping establish a good growing herd which is why I'm a member.
Humper may have some info on this too.

[DXTroughneck]

Im going mule deer hunting in a few weeks in the davis mnts and the outfitter said there is a couple of nice herds there, but like KEEP said they dont shoot them.

[VorTexan]

they love sweetgum leaves and bark so they would thrive in East Texas.

[Huntjunkie]

Found this info on the web. I found several outfitters that hunt these heards off of the private land but have not found any on public so far. Elk where native at one time in Texas would love to see them come back.

Distribution in Texas. Formerly present only in the Guadalupe Mountains (Culberson County) but presently, free-ranging elk exist in Texas in five small herds in the Guadalupe Mountains, Glass Mountains (Brewster County), Wylie Mountains (Culberson County), Davis Mountains (Jeff Davis County), and Eagle Mountains (Hudspeth County). Others are kept in deer-proof pastures on scattered ranches over the state. Total statewide population in 1984 was estimated to be 1,600.

[Huntjunkie]

Remarks. Although there are no museum specimens to document their presence, the only native elk in Texas were in the southern part of the Guadalupe Mountains. Those elk belonged to the species Cervus merriami, which became extinct around the turn of the century. In 1928, Judge J. C. Hunter and his associates imported 44 elk (Cervus elaphus) from the Black Hills of North Dakota and released them at McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupes. They multiplied rapidly and expanded their range to nearly all parts of the mountains. The estimated population size in 1938 was 400. In 1959, elk were added to the list of game that could be hunted, and the population was estimated to number about 300. The most recent estimates place the Guadalupe Mountain herd size at no more than 40 individuals. In 1992, the Eagle, Davis, and Wylie Mountain herds each were estimated to number 15-40 individuals, while the Glass Mountain herd numbered 150-180 elk.

[Will Hunt]

they love sweetgum leaves and bark so they would thrive in East Texas.

I think they would probably be shot like crazy in East Texas!

[WCB]

I think they would probably be shot like crazy in East Texas!

that ain't no joke...

[ken]

Several of the WMAs with draw hunts in west Texas allow you to shoot an elk during their hunts. I don't think there are any reliable or consistant herds of elk on the WMAs but you asked for elk on public land and that's about it for huntable public land in west Texas.

[Humper]

Keep nailed. Most elk now are hunted on private high fenced ranches Here is a link to map that shows current and historic ranges of elk.

http://www.rmef.org/AllAboutElk/ElkRange/

A few years ago several folks up in the panhandle spotted elk that had moved in from New Mexico due to the wildfires.

If you are interested in helping restore elk to Texas join the RMEF and participate in your local RMEF chapter. In early 2009 the national RMEF Convention "Elk Camp" will be held in Ft. Worth. Here is a link to info about Elk Camp

http://www.rmef.org/AboutUs/ElkCamp/

[Shane]

There are occasional elk in the Panhandle, as Humper said. A few counties up there used to have a season for them back in the '80s. It was mainly to keep them from being shot year-round if they did happen to wander in from New Mexico, I think. We had a bull on one of our farms near Kress back then. The game wardens came out and darted it. It didn't go down, so they darted it again. They really chousted it around getting it in the trailer, and by the time the darts kicked in, he died.

About 3 years ago, a farmer near Nazereth was cutting milo and a large 6x6 bull and a few cows got up in the middle of his field. He didn't know what they were. He called the game warden and told him that some HUGE brown deer were in his field. The GW told him they were elk and that they were not considered to be game animals anymore and that he could shoot them if he wanted to. The farmer said that he didn't have a gun, so the GW drove out with his rifle. He offered his rifle to the farmer (probably hoping that the farmer would tell the GW to just shoot one). The farmer took his rifle and downd the bull. I saw a picture of it, and it probably scored over 300.

There were elk on the Plains back in the day as well as in the mountains of far West Texas.

[Sully]

My brother has a lease (10,000 acres) out in West Texas and his neighbor brought in 2 or 3 eighteen wheelers of elk 3 years ago. Best part is there isn't a high fence anywhere between them. They now are seeing them on their property. They are not shooting them in hopes they establish a breeding population. Don't know of any public land that has them.

[crittergitter]

they have elk free ranging in the rocksprings area