Behind the Badge - Nuisance Elk
Nuisance Elk
District Game Warden Alan Howard
On Nov. 1, 2025, I received a call from an off-duty game warden who reported a local rancher had a problem with an elk tearing up his fence. I was only about 15 miles away and responded to the area.
I met up with the landowner to see what could be done. The landowner said that the bull elk had been in the area since June and had never caused any problems or damage until now. He said the elk used its antlers to tear up a gate that led into a different pasture where he didn’t want his cattle.
Turns out, the bull elk had tangled with the same gate more than once and by the time I arrived the animal had multiple fence posts and barbed wire entangled in its antlers.
Elk season had been in full swing, starting in early September with the archery season, and early October with the rifle season. The elk was located in a hunting unit that was new that year where only seven tags were available. I was able to look up all seven individuals who had a tag for the area. Six tags were made available to the general public, and one was a landowner preference tag.
Two of the general public tags I knew had already been filled, so at noon on that Saturday I called the four remaining general tag holders to see who wanted to harvest this nuisance elk. Not one person answered their phone.
Not knowing any of the hunters, I picked one and texted out of the blue asking if they had filled their tag yet. I got an immediate response: “NO, who is this?”
I sent a photograph of the elk provided by the landowner and called the individual. He was more than willing to come to my location. While the elk could still move freely around when I was there, it had decided to bed in an area about 350 yards off the roadway.
The hunter, Mr. Klawitter, arrived at the location and I verified he had his tag with him and showed him where the elk was. It was going to be an easy sneak from behind a cluster of trees. He grabbed his rifle and started in the direction of the elk.
I stopped him and asked if he had any orange to put on, which he did, but had simply forgotten because he was excited. Mr. Klawitter said he had never shot an elk before and had shot only one deer in his life. He had a hunting partner with him who was going to record the hunt.
The sneak was on, and they cut the distance by at least half before the bull stood and took about four steps, turned broadside, and then a single shot rang out. The elk stumbled and fell within a few steps of where it had been bedded. The landowner’s problem had been solved, and the hunter was satisfied with his elk.
You just never know what you are going to run into with this job.