Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Arizona Elk State Route 260 Winter Ranges

Metadata Updated: November 20, 2025

The State Route 260 elk herd resides east of Payson, Arizona, along State Route 260 in Game Management Units 3C, 4A, 4B, 5A, 22, and 23. The herd winters in a concentrated range around State Route 260 near Kohls Ranch, south of Diamond Rim, and extending to Christopher Mountain and Bearhide Canyon. Most elk summer on the Mogollon Rim (hereafter, Rim), a rugged escarpment at the southern tip of the Colorado Plateau, and descend from the Rim in two primary locations, Sharp Creek and Al Fulton Point, to reach the winter range. Other individuals summer below the Rim, but as winter approaches, they migrate south to the winter range. In 2021, the Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) on State Route 260 near the herd’s winter range was 6,557 vehicles. Previous studies suggest that when the AADT exceeds 10,000–15,000 vehicles, elk rarely attempt to cross highways unless a designated crossing, such as an underpass, has been established. As development in Arizona continues to expand, it will become increasingly important to effectively manage traffic and accommodate wildlife crossings along State Route 260. These mapping layers show the location of the winter ranges for elk (Cervus canadensis) in the SR260 population in Arizona. They were developed from 60 sequences collected from a sample size of 41 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 1-4 hours.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 20, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 20, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-679174acd34ea6a4002bfa7a
Data Last Modified 2025-02-06T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id e22b03ac-667a-437f-94f7-299626d8e03f
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash e89081987cd0ed31327e4e2d8b0474cafcf8439646334341ca5fa2453d0c78fe
Source Schema Version 1.1

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.