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Elk herd removal went 'very well'

KPCW | By Renai Bodley Miller

Published March 20, 2023 at 8:48 AM MDT

The elk herd crosses Foothill Boulevard Sunday morning.

The planned operation took less than 20 minutes.

Interstate 80 was closed at the mouth of Parleys Canyon Sunday morning so an elk herd could cross the highway.

The elk herd moves towards the foothills of Salt Lake City Sunday morning.

The herd had settled on the grounds of the Salt Lake Country Club area, around 2300 East, for the past few weeks, according to officials with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Heavy snow in the canyon made it difficult for the animals to find food at higher elevations.

Wildlife officers position themselves on Foothill Boulevard for the elk herd removal.

Officers from Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources and other law enforcement agencies positioned themselves around the herd of about 80 elk around 10 a.m. According to DWR Outreach Manager Scott Root, when the officers started herding and gently pushing the elk, they moved up the canyon in less than 20 minutes.

The elk herd moved into the foothills in about 20 minutes Sunday morning.

"It went very, very well!" said Root in a text message to KPCW. "I am extremely happy! We planned it well, but with the elk, there (are) no guarantees on which direction they will go. Hopefully they will stay up on the mountain with the coming storms. We will monitor them."

Root added that I80 and nearby on- and off- ramps were closed for less than an hour.