DOW looking to add more big game licenses for 2002

DOW looking to add more big game licenses for 2002

December 27, 2001

BY THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE

DENVER — In January, the Colorado Wildlife Commission will be looking at adding more elk licenses for the 2002 big game hunting season.

It's pretty obvious that this was one of the driest, mildest falls Colorado had seen in some time. While that fact may be bad news for Colorado's hunters and ski areas, there is a bit of an upside for some wildlife species. Mammals large and small who must endure the rigors of a mountain winter are well on their way to surviving the season. So, while hunting conditions have been the pits this year and we have a long way to go this winter season, our wildlife species are not complaining. Looking to next year, since the elk harvest and hunting pressure were so low in 2001, the Colorado Division of Wildlife is considering increasing the number of antlerless licenses available in 2002. Non-resident license fees may also come back down. All license changes and new regulations will be decided at upcoming Wildlife Commission meetings. Final 2002 license fees will be discussed during a Wildlife Commission meeting in January.

Fourth-season rifle hunters didn’t have any better luck with the weather than in previous seasons. Warm and dry conditions continued to hamper hunter success and wildlife officials are estimating that the total 2001 elk harvest could be one of the lowest in 10 years.

Last year, hunters took 60,120 elk. This year, the harvest is expected to drop to about 40,000 animals. "Given the numbers, there is a good chance we will increase elk licenses for 2002," said John Ellenberger, big game coordinator for the DOW.

One option under consideration by the DOW is to make all antlerless elk licenses additional licenses. Hunters with additional licenses are able to harvest up to two animals per year instead of one. Currently, additional antlerless elk licenses are restricted to certain hunting units. Another option is more than one license (muzzleloader, archery, and rifle).Not surprisingly, that's one of the options for next year to be explored by the Colorado Wildlife Commission, and by extension the Division of Wildlife. Cow elk licenses in certain game units might become what's known as additional licenses, which means you can get your first license either through the computer draw next spring or buy one over-the-counter, and then get a cow-only tag on top of the first.

The availability of deer licenses is not expected to change much in 2002, as buck and doe harvest rates were only slightly below average this year.

Final license-change recommendations will be presented to the Wildlife Commission this spring after DOW biologists complete game surveys in December and January.

Although the 2001 hunting season started on a promising note, unfavorable weather has not let up and pressure has remained light.

"The first season started off pretty good for harvesting elk," DOW biologist John Ellenberger said. "Initial success was almost as good as last year, but during second through fourth seasons, everything went downhill."

Hunters had hoped weather would improve during the fourth and final rifle season, which ended Nov. 14. But persistent warm and dry conditions scattered game into thick cover in high elevations, making it difficult for hunters to locate animals.

With no snow to assist in tracking or to cover vegetation and force movement, elk in particular proved very difficult to find, say wildlife managers.

There were also fewer hunters tracking them down. Hunting pressure was significantly down from last year, especially for nonresidents.

Many factors contributed to the drop in hunter participation, according to Ellenberger. "We didn’t get the weather – it was too warm and dry," he said. "And the events that took place in New York City put a damper on the hunting scene. People were more concerned with what was going on with the country and the economy."

To lure nonresidents back in 2002, the division is also considering lowering out-of-state license fees for antlerless elk to about $250 – the fee charged before the increase this year to $450.

People who violate wildlife laws in Colorado are finding out that poaching can be costly. Several recently concluded cases demonstrate that courts are willing to hand out big fines to people who take game illegally.

In Fremont County Court, James Michael Barrett, 30, was ordered to pay $15,000 for killing a bighorn sheep out of season.

On Nov. 11, 2000, Barrett was driving on Fremont County Road #9 when he encountered a herd of bighorn sheep. Barrett claimed the sheep were on the roadway and he could not avoid hitting one with his SUV. He then applied for a road-kill permit. The state patrol investigated and concluded that it did not appear the damage to the SUV or the animal was consistent with a collision, so they contacted the Colorado Division of Wildlife. When the ram was X-rayed and inspected by a local veterinarian, a portion of an arrow was removed from the neck. Barrett was charged with hunting out of season, hunting without a proper and valid license and illegal possession of a Bighorn Ram. On Dec. 4, 2001, he agreed to pay fines in the amount of $15,000.

In Pueblo County Court, Jerald A. Seifert, 52, and Michael H. Coleman, 47, both from Westcliffe, paid more than $13,500 and had weapons and an ATV confiscated for illegally shooting two elk. Seifert and Coleman were deer hunting on private property when Seifert shot the elk and left the animals to rot. Coleman was charged as an accomplice to the crime.