Migration Routes of Elk in the Interstate 17 Herd in Arizona

The Interstate 17 (I-17) elk herd primarily resides in Arizona’s GMU 6A and 11M south of Flagstaff. The population estimate for elk in GMU 6A was 6,500 in 2019. Their summer range consists of gentle topography with ponderosa pine forest and interspersed riparian-meadow habitat. Annually, the I-17 elk herd migrates an average of 24 miles to lower-elevation winter range dominated by pinyon-juniper habitat. This winter habitat is located along Oak Creek Canyon to the west and Wet Beaver Creek to the south. The I-17 elk herd faces high road mortality, averaging around 80 mortalities from vehicles per year (Gagnon et al 2013). Despite the high incidence of elk-vehicle collisions along I-17, road crossings are generally prevented from the highway’s high traffic volumes. These data provide the location of migration routes for elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Interstate 17 Herd in Arizona. They were developed using 106 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 47 adult elk comprising GPS locations collected every 3 hours.