Colorado bison legislation

[Bluffgruff]

I haven't run this through my brain on the fine filter, just posting to start the conversation

Colorado only thinks of bison as livestock. A new bill could mean new protections for their wild counterparts

The proposal comes from a committee devoted to incorporating Native American concerns into state policy.

www.cpr.org

My initial thought was "awesome," but I'm a little concerned that this is directed at making them a non-huntable species.

Talk amongst yourselves.

 

[wytex]

I think Wyoming is the same now, bison are livestock although we do have state licenses for hunting them.
When I took my cow bison I could get any beef processor in town to process it for me but they will not do game meat.
The livestock designation allows that.

Not sure if it has changed in Wyoming but was that way for years if not still the same. Allows bison ranching and "hunting" on such places without a license.

 

[BuzzH]

I think Wyoming is the same now, bison are livestock although we do have state licenses for hunting them.
When I took my cow bison I could get any beef processor in town to process it for me but they will not do game meat.
The livestock designation allows that.

Not sure if it has changed in Wyoming but was that way for years if not still the same. Allows bison ranching and "hunting" on such places without a license.

No, they're their own classification "wild bison", not livestock and not wildlife either.

 

[COEngineer]

When I first heard about wild bison being shot in on sight in CO as soon as they cross the border from Utah, I was stupefied. How can an animal that is a highly prized huntable game animal on one side of the border be worthless (zero protections) on the other side. Just like many other species, they aren't going to thrive everywhere, but the idea of not even having a framework to manage them as wildlife is too far down the road of "out of convenience for ranchers, we aren't going to even try to have a wild population."

I also feel like we are going to have them listed on the ESA if we don't do anything (and might anyway), so why not get out ahead of it at the state level while we can.

There are a lot of nuances and a lot of history to understand how we got where we are today. However, I haven't heard a convincing argument for not classifying free-ranging bison as wildlife (and preferably a game species). Like the OP, I'm interested to hear other's perspective.

 

[LuketheDog]

There's very little good info in that CPR article or the bill itself, just like there are very few, if any, wild bison in Colorado in a given year. To me this reeks of another politicization of wildlife in Colorado. Although I'd love to see wild bison here, they'll just have to get in line behind the wolves, wolverines, and grizzly bears for their share of attention...

 

[Bluffgruff]

Adding a couple more things to read

Locals cool to idea of wildlife designation for bison

When Colorado Parks and Wildlife held a public meeting in Rangely early this month about the potential for designating as wildlife bison like those that occasionally wander across the state

www.gjsentinel.com

Bill making bison big game wildlife expected next year

Colorado state lawmakers next year likely will consider a bill that would designate bison as big game wildlife, which would end unregulated hunting that has occurred over the years in

www.google.com

 

[bayoublaster7527]

I haven't run this through my brain on the fine filter, just posting to start the conversation

Colorado only thinks of bison as livestock. A new bill could mean new protections for their wild counterparts

The proposal comes from a committee devoted to incorporating Native American concerns into state policy.

www.cpr.org

My initial thought was "awesome," but I'm a little concerned that this is directed at making them a non-huntable species.

Talk amongst yourselves.

I am immediately skeptical of anything that comes out of the Colorado General Assembly these days, it’s a new level of crazy every session. That being said, I love the idea of wild bison roaming the plains again and the long term chance of a free range hunt. This does reek of typical CO Dem virtue signaling and social justice pandering to indigenous people at the request of their urban Denver/Boulder progressive base. Are there enough bison in CO to really make this a valid issue? Are we talking about taking on reintroduction of another controversial species right now? The wolf folks intentionally designated them as “non-game” in the proposition to prevent any chance of recreational hunting in the future. I feel like most voters have some serious reintroduction fatigue after this wolf debacle.