University of Kentucky - SPR and Elk Capture FY23

Elk Population Modeling in KY Abstract Elk have been irruptively growing in population size and expanding their range since reintroduction ended in 2002. Despite their large size and gregarious nature, elk are surprisingly difficult to visually survey from the air or ground. As such, wildlife agencies have frequently relied on population models based on harvest information. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, in conjunction with the University of Kentucky, is proposing a research partnership to develop a statistical population reconstruction (SPR) model using existing harvest data, and a camera-based, spatially explicit mark-recapture network to estimate population size. If sufficiently informed using data from field research and computation analysis, this model will provide an updated population estimate of elk in Kentucky and establish a baseline field effort in continuation of these goals.