Colorado 5-year structure public input meeting schedule

[jgilber5]

CALLING ALL COLORADO BIG GAME HUNTERS! Big Game Season Structure public meetings continue through June 29, 2023 Colorado Parks and Wildlife invites the public to have a voice in big game hunting regulation changes that will form the foundation for policy in the years to come. As part of its Big Game Season Structure (BGSS) planning process, CPW is holding a series of in-person open house and town hall meetings across the state as well as virtual meetings for big game hunters to voice their opinions about current BGSS topics under consideration. CPW encourages the public to attend these public meetings to learn about the current BGSS and the potential changes CPW is considering. A list of remaining meeting dates, locations and times can be found below. To learn more about the BGSS process or provide a comment, visit our BGSS Engage CPW webpage at https://engagecpw.org/big-game-season-structure. Virtual Meeting: Thursday, June 29, 6-7:30 p.m. MT - register here: https://cpw-state-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GIjcdrG4TuCxIqgyG-eHyw#/registration Southwest Region Monday, June 12, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 18, Montrose (town hall) Montrose Police Dept Community Room, 431 S. 1st Street, Montrose, 81401 Thursday, June 15, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 17, Monte Vista (town hall) Ski Hi Complex, 2335 Sherman Ave, Monte Vista, 81144 Thursday, June 22, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 16, Gunnison (town hall) Fred Field Center, 298-278 S Spruce St, Gunnison, 81230 Southeast Region Thursday, June 8, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 13, Salida (open house) Chaffee County Archery Range & Browns Canyon Bowhunters, 16201 US Hwy 285 between MM 136 & 137, Salida, 81201 Northwest Region Tuesday, June 6, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 9, Kremmling (open house) CSU Extension Hall, 210 11th Street, Kremmling, 80459 Thursday, June 8, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 7, Grand Junction (open house) Mesa County Fairgrounds, 2785 US-50, Grand Junction, 81503 Thursday, June 8, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 8, Glenwood Springs (town hall) Rec Center, 100 Wulfsohn Rd, Glenwood Springs, 81601 Tuesday, June 20, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 8, Eagle (town hall) Eagle Valley Library, 600 Broadway St Eagle, 81631 Tuesday, June 27, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 6, Meeker (open house) Meeker Fire Department, 236 7th Street, Meeker, 81641 Northeast Region Thursday, June 8, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 5, Denver (open house) CPW Hunter Education Building, 6060 Broadway, Denver, 80216 Thursday, June 15, 6-7:30 p.m. MT, Area 4, Loveland/Fort Collins area (town hall) Scheels, 4755 Ronald Reagan Blvd, Johnstown, 80534 Thursday, June 29, 6-7:30 p.m. MT; Area 3, Sterling (town hall) Northeastern Junior College, Ballroom, 100 College Ave, Sterling, 80751 *If you have any questions, please email [email protected].​

 

[IrkedCitizen]

I would like to see them collect license fees up front again. But that's just me.

 

[ReaptheHeat]

Wow just missed it

 

[trophyhill]

Agreed! License fees up front like we do in NM. I'm all for an increase in cost too! Cant believe I just said that.......

 

[IrkedCitizen]

Agreed! License fees up front like we do in NM. I'm all for an increase in cost too! Cant believe I just said that.......

For real. Not collecting license fees up front killed the moose, goat, sheep draw. My moose went from 16% chance of drawing in 2017 to 2% chance in 2023.

 

[cnelk]

Apply for your OTC by the April deadline with no returns would help immensely

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

I went to the meetings.

It was only about season structure topics - not pref points, app deadlines, or fees. Just FYI.

We discussed and voted on issues such as:

Whether to replace unlimited elk (OTC archery, OTC 2nd rifle and OTC 3rd rifle) with a 1) OTC with CAPS model or, 2) every unit goes to draw only. The new resident/non-resident allocations would apply (now 75%/25%).

I believe that all 3 non-resident UNLIMITED tag programs listed above will be gone in Colorado starting in 2025. It will be replaced with either, OTC with CAPS (possibly broken down to GMU/DAU level and possibly not) or, ALL units will go to draw only. The new resident allocation ratios stated above will be effective for all draw units requiring 6 or more points starting in 2025. If the OTC units convert to draw only, the 75/25 res. allocation would also apply.

Whether to discontinue only non-residents UNLIMITED tag opportunities, or to discontinue both, resident and non-resident UNLIMITED tag opportunities. There may have been a status quo option in the vote as well, but it wasn't presented like that was going to remain during discussion.

Whether to add an early rifle deer hunt to coincide with 1st rifle for elk

Whether to increase overall tag opportunities for pronghorn in the NE quad of the state.

We discussed making 3rd rifle season 9 days long.

We discussed if the current elk/deer archery opener should remain Sep. 2 or be changed.

We discussed if season structure changes should be open to public input and re-evaluated every 5 years (status quo) or changed to a 7-10 year period. CPW can make discretionary changes if needed, but there is a lot of red tape for them to do that outside of the prescribed input periods regarding various issues.

All of the above discussed changes would be implemented for the 5-year period between 2025 and 2029

It was suggested that archery deer season open on Aug. 15th to reduce multi-species pressure in September. Whether or not that will be added to this input period's docket for actionable consideration is unclear.

I've represented the facts of the topics as best as I can remember. If I made an error in a detail, please excuse me. If you have any questions and weren't able to attend a meeting or a virtual meeting, post them here and I'll answer as best as I can.

If you want to answer the poll questions, they are on the CPW Engage website for your consideration, but you will need an account if you would like to contribute.

 

[bz_711]

I went to the meetings.

It was only about season structure topics - not pref points, app deadlines, or fees. Just FYI.

We discussed and voted on issues such as:

Whether to replace unlimited elk (OTC archery, OTC 2nd rifle and OTC 3rd rifle) with a 1) OTC with CAPS model or, 2) every unit goes to draw only. The new resident/non-resident allocations would apply (now 75%/25%).

I believe that all 3 non-resident UNLIMITED tag programs listed above will be gone in Colorado starting in 2025. It will be replaced with either, OTC with CAPS (possibly broken down to GMU/DAU level and possibly not) or, ALL units will go to draw only. The new resident allocation ratios stated above will be effective for all draw units requiring 6 or more points starting in 2025. If the OTC units convert to draw only, the 75/25 res. allocation would also apply.

Whether to discontinue only non-residents UNLIMITED tag opportunities, or to discontinue both, resident and non-resident UNLIMITED tag opportunities. There may have been a status quo option in the vote as well, but it wasn't presented like that was going to remain during discussion.

Whether to add an early rifle deer hunt to coincide with 1st rifle for elk

Whether to increase overall tag opportunities for pronghorn in the NE quad of the state.

We discussed making 3rd rifle season 9 days long.

We discussed if the current elk/deer archery opener should remain Sep. 2 or be changed.

We discussed if season structure changes should be open to public input and re-evaluated every 5 years (status quo) or changed to a 7-10 year period. CPW can make discretionary changes if needed, but there is a lot of red tape for them to do that outside of the prescribed input periods regarding various issues.

All of the above discussed changes would be implemented for the 5-year period between 2025 and 2029

It was suggested that archery deer season open on Aug. 15th to reduce multi-species pressure in September. Whether or not that will be added to this input period's docket for actionable consideration is unclear.

I've represented the facts of the topics as best as I can remember. If I made an error in a detail, please excuse me. If you have any questions and weren't able to attend a meeting or a virtual meeting, post them here and I'll answer as best as I can.

If you want to answer the poll questions, they are on the CPW Engage website for your consideration, but you will need an account if you would like to contribute.

Thanks for sharing! As always - hope decisions are made with long term herd health in mind.
IMO:
-unlimited needs to go away for both NR & R to have any impact (at least for 5 yrs to see if any herd would justify having unlimited again)
-CAPS is a good start, but feels like if realistic CAPS were put in place it would essentially be a draw unit anyway in order to get tag (similar to Idaho selling majority on first day)
-Still wish all tags were mandatory reporting within 24 hours of kill or season ending.
-I've never mulie hunted but really like the idea of Aug 15th archery deer (let those guys chase in velvet) and run that season to approx 9/12 for 28 days, and let elk run 9/2-9/30 for 28 days. Still allows guys to overlap with both tags, but also spreads out the pressure. Or run them simultaneously but have guys select and early or late archery: for example Deer and Elk Aug 20-Sep 5th "Early" tag or Sep 10th-25th "Late" archery...just another thought to give options and spread out pressure

Ultimately hope some changes are made for better long term herd numbers. Unfortunately I think tag allotment is only 1 small piece of the pie. Predator numbers are my #1 concern impacting deer/elk and Recreation pressure/habitat loss is #2.