Colorado: New wildlife roundtable forming

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Colorado mule deer browsing. Photo courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

State resource managers seek input from hunters and anglers

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —With deer herds in northwestern Colorado declining and the state’s trout likely facing another long, dry summer, wildlife managers may be looking at some tough choices in the months ahead.

To get some input from active hunters and anglers in the region, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is putting together regional caucuses to meet and discuss wildlife issues with managers, biologists and agency officials, with an upcoming meeting set for Feb. 20 in Grand Junction (6 p.m. at the Clarion Hotel, 755 Horizon Drive).

In addition to the wildlife-related discussion, attendees will select two delegates to represent the region’s wildlife concerns at the newly formed Sportsmen’s Roundtable to be held in Denver next month. The roundtable will provide hunters and anglers from the four regions of the state with direct access to agency officials, including wildlife commissioners. (more…)

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Colorado game managers seek ‘malicious moose poacher’

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Grand County killing described as an ‘egregious act’

A moose cow and two calves browse near the base of Berthoud Pass in this Aug. 2010 file photo.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say they are launching an all-out investigation to apprehend the person or persons responsible for killing a cow moose and her two calves in Grand County.

“This is an outrageous incident,” said Ron Velarde, northwest regional manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “My officers are preparing an all-out effort to find the person or persons responsible and bring them to justice. At this point, we have no reason to believe this was an accident,” Velarde said. “The case is being investigated as a malicious poaching incident.” (more…)

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Colorado: Elk poacher hit with $11,500 fine

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Grand County case solved with help from hunters

Bull elk, Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo courtesy Kim Fenske.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A West Virginia man will pay an $11,500 fine for poaching Colorado wildlife. The fine includes a $10,000 penalty that applies when trophy-quality wildlife is poached — in this case a 6×6 bull elk taken on Devil’s Thumb Ranch property in Tabernash earlier this month.

David Lee Burner, 61, was cited for “hunting on private property without permission” and “illegal possession” of the elk after wildlife officers got a tip from another hunter.

“We first received a tip from a concerned hunter who witnessed a suspected trespassing incident in Devil’s Thumb Ranch,” said Lyle Sidener, area wildlife manager in Hot Sulphur Springs. “After the ranch owners found evidence of trespass on their property, they informed us and then assisted us in the investigation.” (more…)

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Colorado biologists planning statewide lynx assessment

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Habitat occupancy assessment to help monitor status of population

A lynx in the wilds of Colorado. Photo courtesy Tanya Shenk, Colorado Division of Wildlife.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists say they’re close to finalizing a plan to monitor the state’s lynx population by assessing habitat occupancy. If successful, the strategy would enable researchers to determine whether the population of endangered wild cats is sustaining itself over time.

The habitat occupancy model was tested in a pilot program in core lynx habitat in the San Juans a couple of years ago, showing that about 50 to 60 percent of the available lynx habitat is occupied. Now the biologists are trying to figure out if they can use the same method to keep tabs on lynx across the entire state.

Lynx have been listed as a threatened species since 2000, with a population in New Mexico currently under consideration for listing as a candidate species. Colorado launched a restoration program in 1999, transplanting more than 200 lynx from Canada and Alaska to the San Juans.

The reintroduction effort was declared a success about two years ago, after 10 years of intensive monitoring, with on-the ground visits to lynx dens, as well as tracking via airplanes and satellites. The tracking shows that the population has spread northward, with resident, breeding lynx up through the Collegiate Range and even into Summit County, with pockets of populations north of I-70.

In a draft report on the pilot study, biologists said it’s not feasible to accurately estimate population numbers, but assessing habitat use and occupancy can help determine whether the population is stable, growing or declining — and might also show trends in habitat use, for example in response to changing forest conditions. Colorado Parks and Wildlife lynx research is online here. (more…)

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Key federal wildlife funding measure turns 75 this month

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Pittman-Robertson Act crucial to maintaining Colorado game herds

Funding derived from the Pittman-Robertson Act helped Colorado establish a moose population. Photo by Bob Berwyn.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Without much fanfare, wildlife managers around the country are celebrating a milestone this month, as the Pittman-Robertson Act turns 75.

If you’ve never heard of the Pittman-Robertson Act, you’re probably not alone, but if you value wildlife, you’ve probably benefited from what might is probably the single most effective funding tool for wildlife management and restoration.

Along with a companion measure — The Dingell-Johnson Act — passed several years later, the 11 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition has helped restore charismatic species like wild turkeys, bald eagles and peregrine falcons. In Colorado, the funds have also been used to help pay for management and operations at 300 state wildlife areas. (more…)

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Colorado: Free fishing this weekend

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Relatively low river flows make for good angling this year

Trent Park, Silverthorne, Colorado.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — After the earliest snow-melt on record, many Colorado rivers and streams are already running clear and warming up. And with flows projected to drop off quickly going into summer, the upcoming free fishing weekend might be the perfect time to get into the groove of the season.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife traditionally sets aside the first full weekend in June to promote sport fishing. For this weekend only, anglers do not need a valid fishing license in order to wet a line. The state fishing report is online here.

“Fishing is one of Colorado’s most important outdoor traditions and a great way to hook kids on healthy outdoor recreation,” said Greg Gerlich, aquatic section manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “Free fishing weekend also gives anglers who haven’t fished for a while a chance to reconnect with the simple pleasure of being on the water.” (more…)

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Colorado: New life for the Arkansas River

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Major restoration project set for the summer

Historic smelting activity around Leadville helped build Colorado’s wealth but destroyed precious natural resources. PHOTO COURTESY COLORADO HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Acid mine drainage in the Upper Arkansas River Basin. PHOTO COURTESY EPA.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Decades of industrial-scale mining left parts of the Upper Arkansas around Leadville mostly lifeless, but restoration efforts at the California Gulch Superfund Site, along with treatment of contaminated water, should help boost some aquatic life to one of Colorado’s big rivers.

This summer’s project is a key part of the federal and state effort to restore an 18-square mile area where mining led to the discharge of heavy metals and acid at the headwaters of the Arkansas, making the river in that area unable to sustain healthy fish populations. The river currently supports a good trout population because of earlier mine cleanup efforts and will be further enhanced by the upcoming habitat improvements. (more…)

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Colorado to extend OHV monitoring program

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Sharing the trails on Tenderfoot Mountain in Summit County, Colorado.

2011 pilot program resulted in 10,000 contacts with riders in problem areas

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado officials will continue an off-highway vehicle monitoring program that has helped increase compliance with off-road rules in Colorado.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last week approved $300,000 in funding to extend the pilot program launched last year.

In 201, teams of law enforcement officers from Colorado State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management contacted 10,000 individual riders in problem areas identified by environmental and quiet recreation groups, according to state trails program manager Tom Morrissey. (more…)

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Colorado: Poachers nabbed at I-70 checkpoint

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Elk near Bailey, Colorado. PHOTO COURTESY COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE/JCHURCHILL.

Most hunters in compliance with regs; wildlife officials plan more highway inspections

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Colorado wildlife officials who checked hunters on I-70 in November said they were pleased that most of the people contacted during the wildlife check were in compliance with state laws and hunting regulations.

About 300 hunters were interviewed during two-day operation at Loma, west of Grand Junction. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers issues 22 citations for various infractions including illegal possession of wildlife and failing to provide evidence of the sex of their harvest. One driver is being investigated for being in possession of 78 white bass and two walleye. The source of the fish is still under investigation. Officers seized all illegally harvested wildlife. (more…)

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Colorado: Native minnows return to the Arkansas River

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

10 years of research by state biologists helps set stage for restoration

The plains minnow hasn't been seen in its native Arkansas River habitat since the 1960s.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Along with restoring charismatic megafauna like lynx, Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists have also focused attention on the state’s aquatic habitats. In one of the most recent success stories, they’ve been able to bolster populations of rare, native minnows in the Arkansas River, after some pioneering research by the John Mumma Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility in Alamosa.

Plains minnows (Hybognathus placitus) and suckermouth minnows (Phenacobius mirabilis) are on the Colorado threatened and endangered list.The plains minnow hasn’t been seen in the Arkansas River since the 1960s. (more…)

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