Colo 5year plan new info

[rocketman]

DOW will submit a rough draft of the new 5 year big game
plan to the commission on March 11 in Denver. This could
result in giant changes in management of elk and very
little changes in deer,sheep etc.Statewide draw for bulls
is a possibility as is many more draw units.This is step
one in making Colorado a much better place for bulls to last
past the raghorn stage. 80% of our rags are shot and 90%
of our 5 points are harvested at that age. Only 2% of our
bulls live to be 6 points and very very few live to be 6+
years(trophy class). If you are in favor of better bulls
and less hunter pressure(draw units) attend this meeting
or the ones in Grand Junction May6, Gunnison July1, Durango
Sept.9. The final stamp of approval will (new date) be in
Glenwood Springs Oct.7. These are all commission meetings
and you can speak. We can bring back our mature bulls as we
have done with our bucks over the last 5 years(limited draw).
Colorado can become what it once was QUALITY.

 

[COHunter]

We can provide all the input we want (and I do), but the bottom line is the D.O.W. and the Wildlife Commission are gonna do what they want, not what we want.

Sure they can limit tags Statewide for Bull Elk, but I wouldn't put it past the D.O.W. to set the quota for tags so high in each GMU, that they might as well just sell them OTC.

But hey.....at least they could say they limited tags, because your input mattered.


I would like to be proven wrong, but I doubt it

 

[ElmerFudd]

Anything about limiting nonresidents to less than the current 40% or changing the basic draw process for either deer or elk likely to pass?

 

[rocketman]

I agree with your comments. But it is a step in the right
direction that they recognize otc is history. In todays
world there is no place for otc bull tags except low pop
states like Wyoming but these states still limit non-res
hunters which of course Colo does not.We currently have 18%
draw units. Anything less than 50% will be a huge disservice
to the bulls and hunters.The proposed reductions are 50% in
limited units and 80% in premium units. When we have islands
that are draw units we have to much crisscrossing of bulls
from draw units to open units where they are usually
harvested(units 61-62, units 76-77). These isolated units
are not very effective in letting bulls mature.

 

[rocketman]

that certainly is a hot topic here in the Montrose area.Going
to statewide draw with many more limited-premium units I think
will address this in a HUGE way. The financial hit to DOW
with limiting bull licenses and dropping the 40% non res
quota would be very large. Residents certainly would need to make
up a large share of that. I dont think that would fly with
the state leg. They determine the fee structure.

 

[ELKMASTER101]

cry, cry, cry, there are hge bulls in colorado,
you winers just need to do you homework and find them,
then pay jour dues.
resident and non res should be the same cost. 500 bucks
this would help nincrease the heard.
residents shoot 90 percent of the bulls taken,
and they shoot almost all 4 pointers.
and the big ones die of old age.

 

[txhunter58]

But what happens under the current system if we all did our homework? How far would those nice bulls go? Not far I suspect.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[Skeet]

>residents shoot 90 percent of the
>bulls taken,
>and they shoot almost all 4
>pointers.
>and the big ones die of
>old age.

Yea 90% of the bulls taken are 4 points, and that's because 95%of the bull population is 4 points. Oh yea all the big ones die of old age. How can there be any bulls that die of old age when most of them are killed at 2.5 years of aged. You have no idea what you are talking about. There are some good bulls in Colorado, but the majority of these bulls reside on the RFW properties or the limited license units. The over the counter units produce approximately 1-1.8 mature bulls per hundred cows in the southwest part of the state.

 

[COHunter]

It always humors me how other Western State's could limit the statewide quota for Nonresidents tags to 1, and charge $25,000 for it, and thats okay, "thats just the name of the game", but if Colorado does anything, they start crying about how unfair Colorado is treating them.

I sure wish they would research the Nonresident policies of other state's before they break out the box of tissue. No Western State is as Nonresident friendly as Colorado

 

[rocketman]

Colorado allows 40% of draw units to nonres.New Mex22%.Wyoming
16%.Montana 12%. Utah Idaho and Arizona up to 10%.Nevadq1%.
However in Colo if you dont draw, you can still buy a otc tag
for bulls.No other state gives you that option. Most land
owner tags in the draw units go to non res so the actual
number of tags to nonres is close to 50%. I could only hope
other states would treat me the same way.