Too many licenses given out the last six or so years...at least in some units. My guess is that it was more than a few units.
I went to Unit 54 last year during muzzleloader season; Soap Mesa area. Hadn't been there since 2010. Used to be a mecca of elk, now the population in Unit 54 has been reduced by over 50% by the DOW. That was by design according to what the DOW said in several magazines I got in Gunnison before going to make camp. These were the free "tourist" magazines they give out in town but they were hunting issues because it was Fall. They wanted to reduce the herd size because of landowners complaining about elk eating their hay/feed in the winter so they ramped up the license sales. Now they cut back but the damage is done. And the DOW even admitted in the article they might have went too far.
So, the area around Soap Mesa anyway was nearly devoid of elk. Several camps up on top, probably 10 guys or so and all of two animals were taken in the muzzleloader season off of Soap Mesa; and very few overall were sighted by the hunters camped up there. I made it up on top a couple of times (didn't have horses this time and I can't climb quite as good as I used to). Did not see a single animal and virtually no sign. In all the previous ML seasons I hunted up there (2003-2010) the elk were thick; I always got a shot (didn't always make the shot though) and would always see at least several dozen animals each year. Heck in 2003 I probably saw 150+ elk on that mesa.
Sadly, I won't be going back to Soap Mesa again. It was a wonderful place to camp and hunt, but lust for $$$ in the form license sales and lower restitution costs has ruined that unit. They did the same thing to unit 55 but didn't devastate the herd quite as bad (according to their figures). Guess I'll go back to hunting there.
