By Shannon Lukens. File photo.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will start conducting classification and capture flights for deer, elk and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep along the Western Slope this month, through the end of January, and possibly into February. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft help CPW understand herd health and how recent winters have affected birth and survival rates of elk and deer.

Elk monitoring and collaring will happen with the White River elk herd which includes Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield, and Eagle counties.

More details and specifics are in the press release from CPW below.

 

Press Release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife; Dec. 2, 2025.

 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife begin classification flights on the Western Slope

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) will begin annual classification and capture flights for deer, elk and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep throughout Colorado’s Western Slope.

Using both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, flights are scheduled to begin in early December and are expected to continue through the end of January, with the possibility of extending into February, depending on weather and flight conditions.

Classification flights enable CPW to assess the recruitment of young animals (how many survive to adulthood), determine sex ratios, and estimate wildlife populations. Done in the winter to reduce stress and potential injury to wildlife, observations are brief and have a minimal impact on wildlife.

“Classification flights are an important tool to help us understand herd health and how recent winters have affected birth rates and survival of elk and deer,” said CPW Northwest Region Senior Wildlife Biologist Brad Banulis. “This information is important for managing big-game populations in the state.”

“We appreciate the public’s understanding of why they may be seeing helicopters throughout the state,” said CPW Southwest Region Senior Wildlife Biologist Jamin Grigg.  “If you see a low-level helicopter surveying wildlife, know that it’s CPW biologists surveying the herds and collecting valuable data to understand our wildlife populations better.”

Capture and collaring efforts
In addition to classification flights, CPW will continue ongoing long-term elk and deer monitoring efforts beginning in December. During this timeframe, staff will work to capture and collar adult elk and deer, as well as elk calves and deer fawns to better understand deer and elk survival rates and causes of mortality across the state.

Deer capture work will take place in the White River herd, located primarily in Rio Blanco County, Middle Park, Gunnison County and on the Uncompahgre Plateau in Montrose County.

Along with ongoing collaring efforts that will continue for elk in the Gunnison Basin and Middle Park, CPW will initiate a new elk monitoring effort for the White River elk herd, which spans portions of Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield and Eagle counties in northwest Colorado.

In January and February of 2026, CPW will begin capturing and collaring Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep near De Beque. Data collected from this collaring effort will help CPW better understand population size, study movement patterns and monitor for disease.

Media with questions regarding classification flights in the Northwest Region should contact Rachael Gonzales. For questions regarding classification flights in the Southwest Region, contact John Livingston.

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