Evaluating the impact of hunter access and harvest regulations on elk movement and resource selection

Abstract Wildlife managers in many parts of the western United States are tasked with managing elk ( Cervus canadensis ) populations that exceed population goals and strain public and landowner tolerance with problematic distributions. Reducing these populations through hunter harvest and achieving desirable distributions can be challenging in mixed landscapes of public and private lands where decisions to allow hunter access vary among landowners. We used global positioning system (GPS) data from 58 female elk in the Devil's Kitchen elk population in central Montana, USA, to evaluate how hunter access, harvest regulation, and other landscape factors influence elk movements and resource selection during a multi‐phase hunting season. We fit Bayesian multistate models to evaluate factors influencing the daily probability of an elk transitioning between areas with different hunter access strategies, then constructed resource selection functions describing female elk resource selection in relation to hunter access, harvest regulation, and other landscape factors in 4 distinct periods during the hunting season. Our results indicate that elk were likely to transition between hunter access strategies during each hunting period, and the direction of their transitions appeared to be influenced by both hunter access and harvest regulations. Elk responded dynamically to harvest risk throughout the hunting season, generally selecting for less accessible hunter access strategies and more restrictive harvest regulations. Although elk moved to less accessible private lands in the early shoulder and archery seasons, restrictive regulations on open access public lands during the general season appeared to drive elk movements towards those public lands. A combination of restricted hunter access and harvest regulations maintained elk on those public lands through the late shoulder season, reducing conflict with private landowners in the area.