New approach necessary for elk herds
Opening up cow licenses considered
By Charlie Meyers
Denver Post Outdoor Editor
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~95~1912944,00.html
How's this for a flip-flop in that increasingly prickly matter of managing Colorado's elk herds?
Instead of restricting the number of cow elk licenses while allowing unlimited hunting for bulls - the way things have been done for the better part of half a century - let's try it the other way around.
Since the old method hasn't worked so well, despite more tweaking than a Broncos roster, why not reverse field and take an almost opposite approach?
Would you believe the equivalent of over-the- counter cow licenses?
That's the notion espoused by certain key Division of Wildlife managers, at least two vocal members of the Colorado Wildlife Commission and, presumably, a whole lot of hunters who will make their wishes known through a series of public meetings during the next few weeks[see link to list of meetings at the bottom of this post]. The process will help establish the next five-year hunting structure, 2005-09, to be made final at the March commission meeting.
At the crux of the matter is this basic fact: After all those years and countless variations of the current theme, Colorado still has far too many cow elk (along with a large excess overall) and too few large bulls. Further, the situation seems to be getting worse instead of better.
Pressing hardest for a change is commissioner Brad Phelps of Parlin, whose campaign centers on boosting the ratio of mature bulls. At the January commission meeting in Denver, Phelps openly castigated the DOW for allowing populations of mature bulls, four points or better, to drop below the policy goal of 20 to 30 per hundred cows across much of the state.
Phelps also is pressing for more trophy bulls: animals with six points or better. Other key players are pulling in harness with him.
"It seems strange to me that we would try to grow a bigger bull/cow ratio while selling bull tags over the counter and restricting licenses for cows," said Rick Enstrom, the commission chairman and a proponent of change.
Enstrom foresees a system in which all elk licenses would be totally managed as a way of "getting our arms around" the various problems of herd management.
"The rub is that nearly everyone wants to go bull hunting and get a big bull," Enstrom said. "That's not possible. We can't all go out looking for a bull and properly manage our herds."
The solution? Enstrom proposes making bull tags harder to get through a draw process - as was the case when the state went to totally limited deer licenses a half-decade ago - while making it more inviting to hunt cows.
"We'd still have limited cow licenses to allow for herd management," he said. "But there'd be plenty of them available for license agents to sell over the counter in the fall. Everyone still would get to hunt. It's just that we all can't hunt bulls."
Under the current system, hunters who wish to obtain a cow tag generally must apply before an early April deadline. Leftovers are sold beginning in August, but these carry geographic restrictions that would become more flexible if licenses were sold by agents, an arrangement made possible by the agency's new total licensing system.
Enstrom also proposed two other changes that offer greater incentive to pursue cows while also providing more latitude in the application process.
One would grant a preference point to anyone who harvested a cow. A separate proposal would allow hunters to allocate a certain portion of accumulated preference points on an application - much like pushing in only part of your chips when making a bet at Las Vegas.
"We're taking all the sidebars off this discussion," Enstrom said.
Hunters are certain to offer their own ideas, such as the scheme by Durango resident Jack Turner, who suggests creating a "master hunter" program to reward anyone who purchases an elk license in a designated number of consecutive seasons, say 10 or 15. That person then could hunt in any or all rifle seasons, a further incentive to harvest an animal.
Others, such as Littleton resident Kent Ingram, echo Phelps' call for quality.
"Do we want unlimited elk hunting where entire age classes of four-point bulls are culled out as annual crops? I think not," Ingram said. "A resource without five- and six-point bulls of abundance is a poor resource."
Many DOW managers, aware that big game tags make up 80 percent of the agency's total license revenue, are wary of alterations that might severely upset the budget. Others, such as state big game supervisor Rick Kahn, worry about diminished participation at a time when the agency is trying to encourage hunter involvement.
"My big concern about limited licensing is that in 1990 we had 250,000 deer hunters, most purchasing over-the-counter licenses," he said. "Now there are 80,000. We've lost 170,000 deer hunters. Many switched over to elk, but if we now change to totally limited elk licensing, I'm afraid many will just drop out of the game, quit playing."
Kahn also emphasized that change will be for reasons of hunter preference rather than biology, since overall breeding success hasn't been impacted by dwindling numbers of mature bulls.
"It's a matter of personal choice," Kahn said.
Every hunter can play an important role in making that choice over the next few weeks. After that, the only thing left will be five years of complaints.
Public meeting places and times (Voice your opinions, folks!)
Oak
Opening up cow licenses considered
By Charlie Meyers
Denver Post Outdoor Editor
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~95~1912944,00.html
How's this for a flip-flop in that increasingly prickly matter of managing Colorado's elk herds?
Instead of restricting the number of cow elk licenses while allowing unlimited hunting for bulls - the way things have been done for the better part of half a century - let's try it the other way around.
Since the old method hasn't worked so well, despite more tweaking than a Broncos roster, why not reverse field and take an almost opposite approach?
Would you believe the equivalent of over-the- counter cow licenses?
That's the notion espoused by certain key Division of Wildlife managers, at least two vocal members of the Colorado Wildlife Commission and, presumably, a whole lot of hunters who will make their wishes known through a series of public meetings during the next few weeks[see link to list of meetings at the bottom of this post]. The process will help establish the next five-year hunting structure, 2005-09, to be made final at the March commission meeting.
At the crux of the matter is this basic fact: After all those years and countless variations of the current theme, Colorado still has far too many cow elk (along with a large excess overall) and too few large bulls. Further, the situation seems to be getting worse instead of better.
Pressing hardest for a change is commissioner Brad Phelps of Parlin, whose campaign centers on boosting the ratio of mature bulls. At the January commission meeting in Denver, Phelps openly castigated the DOW for allowing populations of mature bulls, four points or better, to drop below the policy goal of 20 to 30 per hundred cows across much of the state.
Phelps also is pressing for more trophy bulls: animals with six points or better. Other key players are pulling in harness with him.
"It seems strange to me that we would try to grow a bigger bull/cow ratio while selling bull tags over the counter and restricting licenses for cows," said Rick Enstrom, the commission chairman and a proponent of change.
Enstrom foresees a system in which all elk licenses would be totally managed as a way of "getting our arms around" the various problems of herd management.
"The rub is that nearly everyone wants to go bull hunting and get a big bull," Enstrom said. "That's not possible. We can't all go out looking for a bull and properly manage our herds."
The solution? Enstrom proposes making bull tags harder to get through a draw process - as was the case when the state went to totally limited deer licenses a half-decade ago - while making it more inviting to hunt cows.
"We'd still have limited cow licenses to allow for herd management," he said. "But there'd be plenty of them available for license agents to sell over the counter in the fall. Everyone still would get to hunt. It's just that we all can't hunt bulls."
Under the current system, hunters who wish to obtain a cow tag generally must apply before an early April deadline. Leftovers are sold beginning in August, but these carry geographic restrictions that would become more flexible if licenses were sold by agents, an arrangement made possible by the agency's new total licensing system.
Enstrom also proposed two other changes that offer greater incentive to pursue cows while also providing more latitude in the application process.
One would grant a preference point to anyone who harvested a cow. A separate proposal would allow hunters to allocate a certain portion of accumulated preference points on an application - much like pushing in only part of your chips when making a bet at Las Vegas.
"We're taking all the sidebars off this discussion," Enstrom said.
Hunters are certain to offer their own ideas, such as the scheme by Durango resident Jack Turner, who suggests creating a "master hunter" program to reward anyone who purchases an elk license in a designated number of consecutive seasons, say 10 or 15. That person then could hunt in any or all rifle seasons, a further incentive to harvest an animal.
Others, such as Littleton resident Kent Ingram, echo Phelps' call for quality.
"Do we want unlimited elk hunting where entire age classes of four-point bulls are culled out as annual crops? I think not," Ingram said. "A resource without five- and six-point bulls of abundance is a poor resource."
Many DOW managers, aware that big game tags make up 80 percent of the agency's total license revenue, are wary of alterations that might severely upset the budget. Others, such as state big game supervisor Rick Kahn, worry about diminished participation at a time when the agency is trying to encourage hunter involvement.
"My big concern about limited licensing is that in 1990 we had 250,000 deer hunters, most purchasing over-the-counter licenses," he said. "Now there are 80,000. We've lost 170,000 deer hunters. Many switched over to elk, but if we now change to totally limited elk licensing, I'm afraid many will just drop out of the game, quit playing."
Kahn also emphasized that change will be for reasons of hunter preference rather than biology, since overall breeding success hasn't been impacted by dwindling numbers of mature bulls.
"It's a matter of personal choice," Kahn said.
Every hunter can play an important role in making that choice over the next few weeks. After that, the only thing left will be five years of complaints.
Public meeting places and times (Voice your opinions, folks!)
Oak
