Roosevelt elk Cervus canadensis roosevelti range along the Pacific coast from the Russian River to Vancouver Island. Olympic and Vancouver Island elk are some of the last pure Roosevelt elk herds left; those in the Cascades have mixed with Rocky Mountain elk. Olympic National Park has the largest population of Roosevelt elk in the world. Some herds spend winter in lowland valleys, summer in high country, in subalpine meadows. Other herds live year-round in lowland forests and meadows. Elk prefer more humid areas, the Sitka spruce, wet western hemlock, and mountain hemlock zones.