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Craig — Within the week, Colorado Division of Wildlife officials hope to begin baiting elk and deer away from private property around Maybell, DOW spokesman Randy Hampton said.

Baiting is intended to draw animals to a secluded location where their impact on - and impact from - residents will be diminished, Hampton said. The exact baiting sites are not being released so the animals can live naturally.

The DOW plans to use two sites north of Maybell and one near Sunbeam. The agency is waiting for approval from the State Land Board and the Bureau of Land Management before starting operations.

"Through monitoring, and (because) : people in the area were able to provide details they were seeing that we weren't aware of in terms of damage to property, we came to this decision," Hampton said.

The idea is to reduce the amount of damage to property, not to feed every deer and elk.

The initial operation will be small, Hampton said. It's a first step to address resident concerns, and if any other steps need to be taken, the DOW will examine the need at that time, he added.

"If we start doing large-scale feeding across the board, there's a possibility we will use all the money," Hampton said.

Expanding operations most likely would require additional funding from the state, he added.

"For now, our biggest priority is to alleviate damage concerns to private property owners," Hampton said.

The amount of hay left at bait locations will not support the entire herd, but it will help maintain the herd, Hampton said.

"The point is to leave enough that they will stay there," he said. "It's not intended on a broad scale to feed every wild animal in the Maybell area."

To bait, DOW officials will create snow trails so animals can easily find their way to their intended destination, and they will leave enough hay to draw the animals out.

If some animals prove too stubborn to easily attract off private land, the DOW will encourage them with noisemakers and herd them with snowmobiles, Hampton said.

"They're the same methods we give to landowners to use," he said. "Generally, the hay will get them moving, so we don't anticipate any big problems."

At this time, the DOW does not plan to bait every elk away from every hay bale, but the agency still has damage relief funds and will provide additional temporary fencing to keep losses at a minimum, Hampton said.

The DOW has determined this operation is a priority and is not waiting to see if the situation improves, Hampton added.

"Now that we're good to go with it, we're not going to wait," he said.

Collin Smith can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 209, or cesmith@craigdailypress.com