I will follow up on this since I have some extra time at work this morning. Obviously just seen in this thread there is confusion on what is required. I know what I would present to a CPW officer without any hesitation. My September Bear tag is over, but maybe we will get an opportunity to do so with my wife's concurrent tag. I will also over the winter see if I can get something in writing from the head of law enforcement at CPW.
Here is how I landed on what I have:
1) Evidence of sex on the meat, not required on the hide.
-It is plainly stated that EOS needs attached to a quarter of major part of the carcass. Nothing is stated about EOS on the hide. If that were a requirement it would be notorious.
2) At no point anywhere is the hide specified as needing to be whole, or whole and intact, or whole, intact, and complete. Laws and regulations are intentional and specific when needed. For example, the language in EOS of "naturally attached" is used, and it is further explained that detached EOS is illegal. This language is used because that is the requirement. If specific requirements for the hide were needed, they would be stated. Why would CPW be so specific about something required, but leave out something required on the same page? To further support this principal, they do offer some specificity in the paragraphs about inspections and seals. They tell you hides and heads must be unfrozen, they plainly state that CPW is authorized to pull a tooth and seal the hide, they tell you how you can help by propping the mouth open, they they go through transportation regulations and the 5 day rule.....nothing about whole hides, EOS on hides, or even paws. Being that our system of laws is literal, specific, and notorious, there are no unwritten or mythical laws.
Here is another perspective on the same principal; I would imagine that many of us have left EOS on any big game animal that was not whole and complete. On a doe or cow maybe some have left a nipple of two of the udder but not the entire dozen or so. On a bull or buck, maybe left 75% of the scrotum, or one testicle rather than two on a bear as shown below (bear EOS states "testicles"). I must ask then, can anyone point to the regulation that specifically states that one is ALLOWED to not have the whole and complete EOS?
You only have to keep one testicle attached to the meat the other testicle can be on the hide not really that hard.
Points one and two have been confirmed to me by the CPW officers in the block of units I am hunting, and follow the letter of the law. I genuinely think that that there is variance in what is being done because of simple preference of some CPW officers, but when it came down to it, there would not be variation in actual enforcement.
I really really hope we can turn up a bear!