RBC | Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Parks and Wildlife Commission made unprecedented big-game hunting license reductions and shortened some season dates due to severe weather conditions this past winter season.
At the May Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, CPW staff gave a presentation on the Deer, Elk, Pronghorn and Moose Limited License Recommendations and State of the Herds Update. The 2023 big-game license recommendation summary by species is posted on CPW’s website.
The Commission approved the following regulations for the 2023-2024 big-game season:
CPW is issuing 236,600 licenses for deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and bear. These license changes include a reduction of 32,000 (-12%) limited licenses from last year.
Statewide, CPW is issuing 12,600 (-12%) fewer deer licenses than last year. For the northwest region, it’s a reduction of 12,800 (-33%) deer licenses.
Statewide, CPW is limiting 107,700 licenses for elk, down 15,400 (-12%) licenses from last year.
Archery licenses for hunt code E-E-004-O1-A and muzzleloader licenses for hunt codes E-E-004-O1-M and E-E-014-O1-M have been reduced by an additional 25%. Only the number of licenses issued has changed. Dates for archery and muzzleloader season in these hunt codes remain the same.
This past winter had the most severe snow conditions residents saw in the past 70 years for the northwest corner of the state, ranging from Rangely to Steamboat Springs and the Wyoming state line — even surpassing the severe winter of 1983-84. Multiple heavy snow storms with strong winds generated hard-packed snow that severely buried food for elk, mule deer and pronghorn.
CPW staff hosted weekly meetings to evaluate snow conditions and observe how it was impacting the survival rates of GPS-collared animals in the area. Based on the findings, CPW recommended that the number of hunting licenses distributed this year in certain game management units (GMUs) be limited to allow herds to recover from a historically harsh winter and sustain abundant wildlife populations in the impacted area.
“This winter has been historic in many ways,” said Meeker Area Terrestrial Biologist Darby Finley. “These recommendations were not easy to make, and we know they will impact more than just CPW, including hunting opportunities and local economies. However, we believe these substantial reductions in licenses will allow herds to recover as quickly as possible.”
PRESS RELEASE | Submitted to the Herald Times
