CDOW district wildlife manager Jeff Oulton couldn't agree more. "The Gunnison Basin looks real good, and with all the snow we've gotten this winter, this fall could be great," he said. The area has a good mix of draw and over-the-counter units, and according to Oulton, they're all pretty good areas. "Unit 66 is as good as anywhere in the state and it only takes a preference point or two to draw."

His over-the-counter choices would be Units 54 and 55. Unit 54 encompasses most of the West Elk Wilderness, which is extremely rugged but holds a surplus of elk. For those hunters wanting a little easier go of it, he recommends Unit 55. It has good access and the map's contour line spread out a little.

GRAND JUNCTION & MONTROSE
Van Graham, the CDOW terrestrial biologist out of the Grand Junction office, says the stage is set for a great fall hunting season across the Grand Junction/Montrose region -- if Mother Nature can deliver again this fall. "Elk are in great shape from Grand Junction to Montrose," says Graham.

Fingers were crossed this winter hoping for the white stuff, and Mother Nature delivered "We received good amounts of snow without the extreme cold temperatures," Graham said. Because of those conditions, fawn survival was good, and spring and summer forage is in great shape this year.

With elk numbers slightly above objective and good numbers of mature bulls roaming the area, no particular unit stands out above the rest. However, hunting the Grand Mesa herd west of Grand Junction is usually a good bet, and most of those units offer over-the-counter tags. Also, Unit 62 produces some heavy racks, but large numbers of hunters go there. You will need to access deep canyons when the pressure builds.

MEEKER/CRAIG REGIONS
On average about 25 percent to 30 percent of the elk harvested statewide come from the Meeker and Craig area, and for good reason. This is the home of the Bears Ear herd and part of the White River herd, accounting for some 70,000 elk combined. For hunters looking to put the odds of success in their favor, this might be the place to double down with a second cow tag. That's what many hunters did in 2004.

According to Darby Finley, CDOW terrestrial biologist out of the Meeker office, hunters did pretty well last fall. The first rifle season received enough snow to push the elk around, so hunters had good success. However, as the seasons progressed warm temperatures and almost no snow plagued hunters in subsequent seasons, leaving a good number of bulls to hold over into 2005.

Finley suggests archery hunters, as well as early rifle hunters, head to the Flattops in Units 23 and 24. As the season progresses and the snow flies, head north to Units 4, 5 and 441.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
"We had a good harvest last fall with both bulls and cows," said CDOW terrestrial biologist Jim Hicks, whose sigh of relief could be heard all the way to Denver. With the White River herd pushing 48,000 elk going into the season, Hicks knew hunters would need to thin the herd closer to its 28,500 objective to avoid a potential massive die-off.

Hicks is anticipating this fall to be just as good if all of the conditions once again fall into place. "With a bull-to-cow ratio around 21-to-100, and an abundance of elk west of Steamboat Springs, hunters should do pretty good." He says early season hunters should have some luck in Units 4 and 441. As the snow flies, elk tend to migrate west into Units 3 and 301.