New Mexico Tesuque Pueblo Elk Tesuque Pueblo Annual Range

The Tesuque Pueblo elk herd is primarily nonmigratory. The elk in this herd came to the region in the late 1990s and early 2000s, likely because of displacement by large fires in the Jemez Mountains. U.S. Highways 84 and 285 bisect the Tesuque Pueblo, and create a physical barrier for elk movement, which contributes to potential elk-vehicle collisions. Two female elk were fitted with GPS collars to track the habitat and lands used by this herd. The elk seasonally use the western section of the Tesuque Pueblo (fig. 34). Similar to the Tesuque Pueblo mule deer herd (see the “Tesuque Pueblo Mule Deer” section of this report), the annual range of the Tesuque Pueblo elk herd primarily consists of pinyon-juniper woodlands and pinyon-juniper savannah. The elk use the southwest area of Tesuque Pueblo and private lands southwest of the reservation. The herd also uses BLM and FS lands adjacent to Tesuque Pueblo, in the Caja del Rio Plateau. A lower elevation and drier section of the FS lands, the Caja del Rio Plateau is a pinyon-juniper-dominated vegetation zone with areas of sage and mixed grasses. The elk are culturally significant to the Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico members. These mapping layers show the location of the annual range for elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Tesuque Pueblo population in Tesuque Pueblo. They were developed from 6 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 2 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 1-4 hour.

[
  "010:12"
]

[
  "geospatial"
]