Reducing the refuge effect: using private‐land hunting to mitigate issues with hunter access

Hunting pressure alters the spatial ecology of many ungulate species. During hunting periods, game species often select areas that have reduced hunter accessibility by increasing use of forest cover, remaining farther from roads, or moving to private land as a means of refuge. Our objectives were to determine if elk (Cervus canadensis) in central Utah, USA, shifted distribution towards areas of refuge (private land) in response to hunting and whether allocating hunting permits to refuge areas could reduce selection of refugia by elk. We captured 445 elk between January 2015 and March 2017 on the Wasatch Front in central Utah and fitted each individual with a global positioning system collar. We used logistic regression models and Bayesian change point analyses to determine differences in daily use of public land in response to the addition of private-land hunting. We detected shifts in elk distribution at the beginning of the archery hunting season and during the rifle season, suggesting elk selected for private land as refuge from hunters. At the conclusion of the hunting season, we detected a shift back to public land. The addition of private-land hunting increased use of public land by elk during the rifle season (from 29% in 2015 to 41% in 2016). Our results show that the distribution of elk across a matrix of public and private land can be influenced by manipulating hunting pressure. Hunter access, the ability of hunters to access target game species, can be a concern in areas with private-land refuges. This can be particularly problematic when management strategies rely on hunter harvest to maintain population objectives; however, this problem can be mitigated by the introduction of hunting on private lands, if landowners provide hunter access.