"We could see some lack of antler development, depending on where they move to," Davies said. "That's the big deal -- where they move to. If they find moisture and nutrition there, it could be no big deal."

Where can such moisture and nutrition be found in this drought-plagued portion of the state?

"They'll look for moisture either in streams that still have water in them or in meadows that have subterranean moisture and still have some good forage," Davies said. "They're pretty good at making a living; they just need to find it."

Keep in mind that elk in these parts often live in some of the state's most treacherous terrain.

"It depends on how hard you want to work," Davies said. "In the Sangre de Cristo, there are good numbers of elk in there. But it's tough country to get into and tough to hunt. We have sheep hunters who are reluctant to go up in there, to units like 82, 86 and 861."

Other issues hunters have to deal with here are the lack of public access in some units and the fact that many units are draw-only. But for those who have a southeast Colorado elk tag, gain the proper access, scout hard and work even harder, the chance for elk hunting success this year is still reasonably high.

"It is going to be a good season, at least a 'B,' because the elk are there," Davies said.

NORTHEAST COLORADO
Which brings us to Colorado's northeastern elk country, a place where senior wildlife biologist Janet George is as optimistic about hunting prospects as her CDOW colleagues are in other regions. "It should be a great year, but I don't know if I can even guess at a forecast grade," George said. "There are good numbers of elk, but the hunting is so weather-dependent, I just don't have a crystal ball."

Unit 20 ranks highly for trophy-caliber mature bulls, but hunters who do their homework might be surprised at the quality of bulls that are occasionally found in other GMUs.

"Nearly all of our units up here are limited, so we have a fairly good bull-to-cow ratio," George said. She noted that Unit 38 still offers some over-the-counter hunting opportunity. While northeast Colorado elk densities are lower than on the West Slope, the limited nature of elk hunting here has helped produce a "fairly older age structure in the bull population," as she put it.

"We're not managing for real trophy-quality elk, but there are some good ones up there," George said.

Note her words: up there. With only a few exceptions, much of the elk country here is high and rugged, demanding that hunters be in top physical shape.

But rugged doesn't always mean far away from civilization. George says that quality hunting in dark timber can be found in Front Range units that feature dense forested growth not far from the outskirts of urban development and suburban sprawl.

This part of the state is less impacted by parched weather than other parts of Colorado. George points to locations in the region with perennial springs that run even in the worst drought conditions. And yet none of that means elk movement goes uninfluenced by dry weather. The key is to find green patches that offer moisture and food like grasses, sedges, various forbs and mountain shrubs, and even tender young aspen shoots.