Wolf Reintroduction, Archery Elk Hunting and Other News

We’re officially one month away from archery season opening in Colorado.  As always, the summer has flown by.  We hope you’re all excited for your time in the woods this autumn/early winter.  Whether you’re on a hunt with us, with another outfitter or going DIY, we wish you a safe and bountiful hunt that brings some quiet and calm to your mind, experiences that remind you why we’re so lucky to do what we do and also some adrenalizing encounters with whatever source of protein you’re pursuing!

Here’s a brief update on a few things I’ve been involved in recently, including wolf reintroduction planning and some possible archery elk hunting changes…

Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction

As you may or may not know, Colorado barely passed a proposition requiring the state to reintroduce wolves by December of 2023.  I was selected to be part of a group of stakeholders that work with technical advisors to develop a management plan for wolves for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to implement once the reintroduction has taken place.  This is a very challenging process as you can imagine but the state put together a solid group of stakeholders that represent all demographics and technical advisors, some of whom have as much wolf experience as anyone in our country. 

As a sportsperson/outfitter representative, one of the main topics I’ve been weighing in on are seeking ways to understand wolf impacts on ungulate herds and if/how those can be mitigated in Colorado.  Looking to our neighbors in the northern Rockies for guidance has been helpful and their data and insights have provided a framework for our suggestions.  While wolves most definitely eat elk (and moose and deer) it’s important to remember that the sky won’t fall.  Wolf impacts will likely be on a local scale and those affected will have to adjust accordingly.  Maybe our Dark Timber Outfitters operation will be impacted…maybe it won’t.  Time will tell and with time, the elk will adapt and survive.

Additionally, encouraging CPW to have a robust education and outreach program to get people informed on wolves and their influence on the landscape has been an important discussion point.  Whether you’re a hunter, a hiker, a dog walker, a livestock operator, or something in between, ALL citizens of Colorado, as well as nonresidents, should be educated on what having wolves on the landscape will and will not look like.  Dispelling myths and fears, educating through existing data and providing a proactive and consistent message are important items for CPW to address.

Funding is also a major topic of discussion.  You can plan until you’re blue in the face but if you don’t have the money to implement the plan, it doesn’t matter too much.  CPW is still figuring out exactly how they’ll tackle the funding of wolf reintroduction.  In a very short-sighted and less-than-transparent (my personal opinion here) effort, the advocacy group largely responsible for driving the ballot initiative that voters passed included no options or support for funding to the state.  They basically got it to a vote, squeaked it by and now voters are left holding the bag as to how to pay for it.  And it ain’t cheap.  Not my way of doing business but here we are. 

Much of everything you just read will come down to what the technical group includes in the final draft and ultimately what the CPW Commissioners decide to approve.  Myself and the fellow hunters/outfitters on our stakeholder group have been clear and consistent with the messaging pertaining to the topics outlined above.

We have one stakeholder meeting left before our time is done.  The public is always welcome to these meetings and the next and final one is in Glenwood Springs, August 24 and 25.  If you have any specific questions or concerns, please let me know.  For access to gobs of information including meeting summaries, agendas and more, I would encourage all of you to sign up for wolf updates and commenting at:  www.wolfengagementco.org

Unit 521 Archery

Another topic that’s been gaining some traction is moving towards limiting archery elk licenses for unit 521 which is where the majority of our Timber to Table late cow hunts take place.  Archery elk hunting has absolutely exploded across the state to the point where I’d say it’s becoming detrimental to both the resource (elk) as well as hunter experience.  Several outfitters (including myself) have been working with CPW biologists to gather both biological and social data to get a fix on whether doing away with over-the-counter archery licenses and moving to a limited draw for GMU 521 would be feasible. 

Moving a GMU to a limited draw requires a lot of evidence and support from within the agency as well as from the public and then ultimately requires approval from the CPW Commission.  So, it’s no slam dunk to make happen.  However, it appears the public generally supports such a move and CPW is collecting biological data to see if it’s worth moving forward on.  Unit 521 has an elk herd that’s below objective and the hunter pressure during archery is astounding.  You simply can’t get away from folks. 

While it’s less than thrilling to discuss losing OTC options, it’s important to keep the health of the resource in mind.  If we don’t have healthy elk herds, no one will be hunting.  On the flip side, it’s important to remember that by going limited, this doesn’t necessarily mean huge loss of opportunity for hunters.  How CPW structures a possible move to limited could simply mean capping the number of licenses available to what the average number of archery hunters has been in unit 521 over a span of recent years.  It could eliminate archery hunters being able to bounce around from one OTC unit to another and require them to hunt one unit only.  They may do something entirely different or do nothing at all.  Point is, if they move to limited, there’re options to make it work, improve the quality of the hunt, still maintain solid opportunity and most importantly, take care of the resource.

If you’d like to provide comment on this issue, please take a moment to complete this CPW survey.

Contact Us With Questions

As always, thank you for taking the time to read our updates.  We try to do as much good for the wildlife, habitat and public lands we’re lucky enough to have access to and hope that you can do the same in whatever capacity that may be.  Pushback against hunting, wildlife management complications and public access issues will never go away.  It’ll require people to keep stepping up now and far into the future.  But now is our turn and I hope you’re able to engage in some way that gives back to help ensure future hunters have the same opportunities we’ve been so blessed to experience. If you have questions about availability or an upcoming hunt, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Good luck this fall and talk to you soon!