Commission OKs fish, turkey regs

RBC I The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approved 2014 fishing regulations and took other regulatory action during its November meeting in Lamar.
Commissioners also began the two-step process of setting general regulations for 2014, including a potential ban on the use of drones for hunting or scouting in Colorado. The newly adopted fishing regulations for 2014 will take effect with the April 1, 2014, start of the fishing license year.
The new regulations add tiger trout and cutbow to the list of game fish in the state and apply daily bag and possession limits for those species. The regulations also restrict fishing methods and harvest on designated cutthroat trout conservation waters in the state.
New regulations also seek to encourage harvest by removing bag and possession limits on brown trout on the Dolores River below the Bradfield Bridge, for yellow perch at Spinney Mountain Reservoir and for walleye in Stagecoach Reservoir.
The commissioners also set the 2014 regulations for turkey hunting in the state. The changes approved include regulations opening private-land hunting in GMUs 91 and 92 to over-the-counter in the spring; adding youth-only spring turkey licenses in GMUs 91, 92, 96, 101 and 102; add private-land-only spring bearded turkey licenses in GMU 444.
In other action, the commissioners approved the 2014 Commission meeting calendar, which included elimination of monthly meetings in February and October as part of the effort to reduce spending. Additional spending cuts were discussed that will help Colorado Parks and Wildlife trim the agency budget by $9.9 million beginning in fiscal year 2014, which begins next July.
Commissioners also approved the final “Path Forward” document.
The Path Forward report was built through an extensive public input process and identifies the important items ahead for the agency.