Walk-In Access atlas now available

Walk-In Access atlas now available

November 20, 2001

BY THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE

DENVER — The "Walk-in Access Program Atlas" is now available to hunters and they will not need a bird dog to find it.

The atlas will serve as a guide for participants in Colorado’s new Walk-In Access Program, which opens private property in eastern Colorado to pheasant hunters who purchase a $20 Walk-In Access Program stamp.

Free copies of the atlas can be found at most licensing agents and all Division offices along the Front Range. A copy of the atlas, updates and corrections to the atlas can be viewed at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Web site (www.wildlife.state.co.us). Once the Web page is accessed, those who wish to view the atlas should follow the links to the Walk-In Access Program Web page.

The atlas includes detailed maps of the 113,000 acres of property. The maps, categorized by county, pinpoint the locations of the properties and also include cover types that each property offers and roads. Also included in the atlas are regulations pertaining to the program, small game hunting regulations and some tips and strategies that may make finding Colorado’s pheasants easier.

State wildlife areas are noted in the atlas with the color yellow, but a Walk-in Program stamp is not needed to hunt state wildlife areas.

This year, access to the properties will not be available until Nov. 10, the opening of pheasant season. In order to hunt the properties, hunters 16 or older must purchase, sign and have in their possession a Walk-In Access Program stamp. Hunters under the age of 16 are not required to have a stamp. Stamps can be purchased at license vendors and Division offices.

Every attempt has been made to make the atlas as complete and as accurate as possible, but there may be some errors in plotting fields or some of the properties may have been withdrawn for a variety of reasons after the atlas was published. It is critical that hunters only hunt fields that are marked with Walk-In Access Program signs posted on the boundaries.

Steve Olson, an avid upland bird hunter who normally travels throughout the Midwest and West bird hunting, believes the Walk-In Access Program will refocus many of his hunting hours back in Colorado.

"I normally go to Kansas for pheasants because their access program makes things a lot easier," Olson said. "This year I’m staying in Colorado for the opener. I think that some areas of Colorado have just as good of pheasant populations, but the problem has always been getting access to these areas. I think a lot of people will be staying in Colorado to hunt pheasants because of the program. It is better to keep the money that they spend in the state."

Olson said he believes the program will also encourage the effort to improve Colorado’s pheasant habitat.

"There is a niche group of hunters in Colorado who are into bird hunting," Olson said. "I think the program will direct some of their resources and interest back into the state.