Can Colorado have both sunflower agriculture and healthy elk and deer herds? That’s the aim of research by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The three-year project will track 20 elk and 20 deer to learn their migration patterns. The contractor, Quicksilver Air of Alaska used a helicopter and net gun to capture the animals.

The results of the study will allow wildlife biologists and farmers to come up with a plan to keep the elk and deer away from the sunflower crop. The state pays half a million dollars a year to farmers for crop damages, says an article in the Durango Herald.

The detailed article also says that the project will cost $275,000. Similar contractors, the article notes, charge anything from $500 an animal to $1,600 per hour for their services. The collars cost about $3,000 apiece.

Read the article in the Durango Herald here.

Photo: 3268zauber