Data from: Refuges alter elk distribution: A case study of public and private land management strategies

Wildlife managers have traditionally relied on hunting to manage elk
(Cervus canadensis) population abundance; however, problems with elk
over-abundance and/or distributions have arisen across the western United
States as private landowners restrict public hunting and refuges are
created. In the Sapphire Mountains of western Montana, USA, we
investigated the effects of an amenity refuge expansion on elk
distribution during the hunting season and contrasted this with a common
public land management strategy aimed at increasing elk security through
road closures. We used GPS collar data collected from male and female elk
for two years before and two years after the expansion of an amenity
refuge that restricted hunter access to 31 km2 of habitat. We also
evaluated elk responses to the closure of 41 km of motorcycle routes and 4
km of vehicle routes on United States Forest Service (USFS) lands,
implemented concurrently with the refuge expansion.