Expand the 1-5D Limited Entry Hunting (LEH) zone boundary for Roosevelt elk

The public is invited to comment on the proposed hunting regulation described below.

Status: Proposed

Region:  Region 1, Vancouver Island

Management unit (MU): 1-5D

Regulation type:  Limited Entry Hunting

Species: Elk

Closing date: February 13, 2026 at 4:30 pm PT

Current regulation:

Note about zone D: these hunts are almost exclusively on private land and access to these areas is at the discretion of the landowner. Access during mid-week will not likely be available on private lands managed for industrial forestry activities. Access may not be available during part or all of the LEH season.

Proposed regulation:

Extend the 1-05D either sex archery only hunt zone boundary for Roosevelt elk eastward to encompass a greater area where elk have been observed in conflict with agricultural producers and other landowners. For more information, consult the Boundary Amendment Map (PDF, 136KB). 

Rationale:

Elk hunt zone 1-5D was opened in 2022 to provide hunting opportunity and reduce conflict adjacent to the highway and agricultural area near Cassidy, BC. Some resident elk south of the Nanaimo Airport in the South Fork / Haslam elk population unit have dispersed out of the hunt zone and have come into conflict with at least one agricultural producer. In 2024 and 2025, particularly during the winter months, complaints were received from a farm immediately adjacent to the current LEH elk hunt zone 1-5D. The proposed regulation aims to mitigate the risk of crop depredation in the agricultural portion of the zone.

The expansion of the zones will provide diversity to the LEH hunting opportunities in the area, while at the same time increasing hunting pressure on the resident elk herds, mitigating risks of motor vehicle accidents and crop depredation. 

Provide feedback