The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The Colorado Division of Wildlife will present and explain the proposed alternatives for its five-year Big Game Season Structure, 6:30-9:30 p.m., May 20, at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center multi-purpose room at the Gunnison County Fairgrounds.
Every five years, the Colorado Wildlife Commission adopts a Big Game Season Structure to provide an overall framework for annual hunting regulations. The five-year structure addresses a variety of issues, including the timing and length of hunting seasons, legal hunting methods, the general proportion of licenses that will be limited or unlimited, and the balance among different kinds of hunting opportunities. The current structure ends in 2009. The new five-year cycle will determine guidelines for the 2010-2014 seasons.
Two other presentations will be made. The Gunnison Stockgrowers Association will make a presentation on its proposal to limit elk licenses in Game Management Units 54, 55 and 551. Another group will make a presentation on its proposal to offer over-the-counter elk licenses in those units using a system that would cap the number of hunters based on license sales.
The planning process started a year ago and the agency continues to accept comments from the public. Final consideration of the new season structure is scheduled for a wildlife commission vote in September.
To read about the proposed alternatives, got to: http://wildlife.state.co.us/bgss.
Anyone wishing to submit comments is urged to do so as soon as possible. Comments can be sent via e-mail to wildlife.bgss@state.co.us; by regular mail to Big Game Season Structure, Public Involvement Unit, 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO 80216; or fill out the online form on the DOW web site, http://wildlife.state.co.us/bgss.
