Elk enthusiasts and hiking aficionados will need to rejig their calendars for the next few months. Boulder County has announced that the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain will have to temporarily shutter its gates most Mondays and Tuesdays starting October 7th and stretching through to January 28th. According to Boulder County, this isn't some arbitrary decision to spoil outdoor fun, it's all in the service of a controlled elk management strategy via limited hunting, which happens to be as controversial as it is necessary. Boulder County reports the closures are there to facilitate these conservation efforts.
The reason behind the restricted access? It's to closely monitor and responsibly manage the area's elk population. Only two hunters will be allowed each week to actively participate in the elk management period. They aren't just any gun-toting individuals either, these folks were handpicked through a lottery system of Colorado Parks and Wildlife licensed hunters. They've also had to prove their mettle in a shooting proficiency test and sit through an orientation to qualify, according to Boulder County officials. But before you get up to speed thinking this is some moneymaking scheme, let me be clear, Boulder County isn't making a dime off this. The hunters already paid their dues for their licenses, and that's that.
But fear not, nature lovers, the closures are just on Mondays and Tuesdays, which means the Rabbit Mountain trails will be freely open to the public from Wednesday through Sunday, barring any unexpected end to the scheduled hunting. There are exceptions to the closures as well, with the park remaining open on Oct. 21-22, Nov. 25-26 (to align with Thanksgiving), Dec. 23-24 (for the Christmas crowd), and Jan. 20-21 (in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day). These dates should give ample opportunity for those looking to explore or take in the great outdoors without interruption.
