Colorado big game tags/seasons...ouch.

[Speckslayer]

Tough but needed, hope this helps and they recover quickly. But word on the street is that very few babies will be born this year and many that do will not survive so it's not going to be a quick turnaround.

https://cpw.state.co.us/documents/rulesregs/brochure/biggame/biggame.pdf

The Severe Winter Zone - License Reduction The most notable changes in the 2023 big game license quotas are related to the severity and duration of the historic winter in the northwest corner of the state from Rangely to Steamboat Springs and to the Wyoming state line. In this severe winter zone, the winter at lower elevations, where mule deer, elk, and pronghorn winter, was the worst in at least 70 years because of deep, long-lasting, low-elevation snowpack. CPW recommended unprecedented license reductions within this severe winter zone to account for high mortality rates experienced by mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. These substantial reductions should allow herds to recover as quickly as possible:
• MULE DEER: In the severe winter zone, male and either-sex deer licenses are reduced by 5,000 (-48%) in D-2 (GMUs 3, 4, 5, 14, 214, 301, 441), D-6 (GMU 10), and D-7 (GMUs 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24, 131, 211, 231) combined. Female licenses are reduced by 2,900 (-94%) and to the minimum of 10 licenses per hunt code in D-2 (GMUs 3, 4, 5, 14, 214, 301, 441) and D-7 (GMUs 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24, 131, 211, 231) combined.
• ELK: In the severe winter zone, antlerless elk license recommendations are reduced in E-2 (GMUs 3, 4, 5, 14, 214, 301, 441) by 5,600 (-89%) with all public cow hunts reduced to the minimum of 10 licenses per hunt code. In E-6 (GMUs 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 131, 211, 231) antlerless licenses are reduced 8,700 (-63%) and for E-21 (GMU 10) the reduction is 400 (-60%) antlerless licenses.
• PRONGHORN: In the severe winter zone, pronghorn male and female license quotas are reduced to the minimum of 10 per hunt code. Male licenses are reduced by 1,100 (-74%) and female licenses are reduced by 700 (-83%) combined for all DAUs. Affected DAUs include PH-9 (GMUs 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 131, 214, 301, 441), PH-10 (GMU 11), PH-11 (GMUs 1, 2, 201), and PH-34 (GMUs 12, 23, 211).

Elk Over-The-Counter Season Dates The duration of the second and third rifle seasons for over-the-counter bull elk licenses have been reduced to five days if used in GMUs 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 131, 211, 214, 231, 301, and 441. The second rifle season is reduced from Oct. 28–Nov. 5, 2023 to Oct. 28–Nov. 1, 2023, and the third rifle season is reduced from Nov. 11–Nov. 17, 2023 to Nov. 11–Nov. 15, 2023. If such licenses are used outside the severe winter GMUs, the full season dates apply.

 

[Downwind]

On a positive note it is nice to actually see a State manage thier resource. Terrible about the winter kill.

 

[Seahawk18]

CDFW didn't reduce X zone quotas after last year's fires or this year's winter.

 

[dakinunit]

On a positive note it is nice to actually see a State manage thier resource. Terrible about the winter kill.

I agree at least they are trying to look at long term.I think it's the right call...

 

[freefall]

This may be the first time in my lifetime that I don't draw as a landowner in CO or WY with the reductions. We'll know next week for CO, the week after for Wyoming...It sucks, but I get it.

 

[Pucci]

Didn’t even put in for either state because of the winter they had. Give the animals a break.

 

[mdnduck]

I just put in for points (will have 30 pts and still can't get my unit)

 

[nugentfan]

CDFW didn't reduce X zone quotas after last year's fires or this year's winter.

Monday's email from the biologist that covers X7A/B plus ?
"I can tell you that we had some winter loss in our collared deer and coupled with range conditions (fire) and the low success I was concerned. I lobbied to reduce the quota but the mortality wasn’t extreme and was isolated to X6-X8 and not in the rest of the state. We are going to continue to monitor, the mild winters we’ve been having are actually easy on deer so one bad one doesn’t usually have population implications. Nevada was dropping quotas including for these interstate herds so there will be some relief for the migrators."

Pointed in Colorado because of the impact to the herd as reported on other sites. Uncertain if I even want to use my "free" deer tag application this year.

 

[freefall]

I just put in for points (will have 30 pts and still can't get my unit)

2?

 

[TuscAuto5]

One glaring problem in, at least, NW CO is the miles of old but effective circa 1940s to 1950s or earlier barrier-type woven wire fencing on public lands even away from highway ROWs and directly within big game winter range areas.

Also called (domestic) sheep fence, and net or mesh wire fence at around 48 inches in height coupled with two top barbed wires for around a 52-inch height. This type of fencing dictates movements of big game that cannot readily jump over it - all age classes of pronghorn, and young elk and deer. All big game are affected with accumulated winter snow cover.

BLM has multiple use fence specs where domestic sheep use occurs on big game habitat. An example is 42-inch high, four-strand fencing with bottom smooth wire 16-18 inches off the ground. Yet, I saw miles of barrier fencing last October, and in 2014 and 1998 in NW CO. I reported this type of fencing last year but smelled foot-dragging on correcting the problem even with the millions of dollars that pour into CO for recreation associated with big game.

Report barrier fencing where you see it on public lands. No excuse for having it on State or Federal lands.