Five Wyoming elk herds have remained relatively unknown and uncounted

In the middle of winter — starting in 2018 and stretching into 2021 — contracted helicopter capture crews managed to subdue 42 cow elk from what’s known as the Rawhide Herd. GPS collars adorned the new southeastern Wyoming research specimens, amassing data that subsequently answered many basic biological questions.

The branch of government that commissioned the work might come as a surprise: the Wyoming Military Department. It’s because a good chunk of the Rawhide Herd’s habitat doubles as Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center. These Platte County wapiti not only have to avoid hunters’ bullets and arrows each fall, they also have to cope with aerial training missions, artillery explosions, gunfire on the range, and the bustle of hundreds of soldiers sharpening their skills.

The military an