Elk and Rangelands

Abstract

Elk (Cervus canadensis) are the second largest member of the deer family that reside in North America. Historically, the species occupied most of North America, however, today, they occupy only a small proportion of that range. Across their historical and contemporary distribution, they occupied diverse vegetation communities including both rangelands and forest ecosystems. Given this broad distribution, elk face numerous conservation and management threats including competition with wild and domestic ungulates, disease considerations, and human-elk conflicts. This chapter highlights these and other conservation and management concerns, especially as they pertain to rangelands. In closing, we identify current and future research needs that will be important for the continued persistence and expansion of elk populations across their range.