5MilesBack
"DADDY"
It wouldnt take much to put in place mandatory harvest reporting. Ive been saying that for years
Ya, but mandatory reporting isn't going to do squat if they don't have a realistic grasp on the populations to start with.
It wouldnt take much to put in place mandatory harvest reporting. Ive been saying that for years
WV Mountaineer and how long do you think it will last with an unlimited number of tags? Again it is not about killing elk plenty of guys commenting on here, myself included that notch plenty of tags. The concern is the dwindling number of elk, I mean you know it is noticeable when CPW actually admits there is an issue publicly. Yes, bears, drought, dwindling winter range all play a toll, but until CPW can actually manage units and get a true grasp of hunter numbers and harvest per unit then nothing will get better. I feel the only way they can truly manage on a unit to unit basis is by making it all a draw because right now they have no clue. For instance I have 7 different OTC units within an hour of my house sometimes I hunt one, sometimes 2 or more and I'm not the only one so how can CPW keep an accurate count on how much pressure a unit is getting with this happening, not to mention I haven't been contacted for a survey in years so how accurate are the harvest stats? I also don't see why we can't go to some type of mandatory harvest reporting like New Mexico its all online and takes a few minutes, also if you don't fill it out you are ineligible to apply the next year.
not to mention I haven't been contacted for a survey in years so how accurate are the harvest stats? I also don't see why we can't go to some type of mandatory harvest reporting like New Mexico its all online and takes a few minutes, also if you don't fill it out you are ineligible to apply the next year.
Are your contacts up to date on the CPW database? Whether its been via email or phone call, I've been contacted every year for at least the last 5 years with harvest surveys for deer, elk and bear. Just yesterday they called me about this year's deer hunt.
I agree that a mandatory harvest report is not a bad idea. Like New Mexico, Oregon also has this system in place.
So I guess you don't believe their herd estimates for the state? Back in the 80's they used to say we had about 180k elk in Colorado, and we used to see a lot of elk every hunting season. These days they say there are around 280k elk in the state, a 55% increase in numbers, and we still see a bunch of elk every season. So where is the disconnect? I will agree that there are a lot more elk living on private land year round these days than in the past, but that can't take up the entire 100k extra elk they're estimating. Or do you think their estimating is just WAY off?
Seems odd that they managed the population for around that 180k mark for years, yet these days with all the development that has taken place, the elk have even less holding ground than they used to have..........while the state tries to keep a herd of around 280k. That doesn't add up.
I agree with orionhunter1 as well! It's currently impossible for the CPW to manage the elk population and hunting pressure in current OTC elk units.
Currently only a fraction of all Colo elk units are limited. Just because the CPW goes to all draw elk doesn't necessarily mean that it will take years to draw tags. Conversely, all tags would be a draw and hunters would be required to use rather than build pref pts with their first choice unit. Currently the few limited elk units that exist in Colo have been point creeping for years.
If you take a look at Colo muledeer which converted to all draw many years ago you'll notice that there are excellent deer options that can be drawn every year. There were actually some good deer options to draw as 2nd choice or leftover this year. All deer applicants are distributed over a large chunk of units and hunters burn rather than build pts! To top it all off, the CPW can actually manage Colo muledeer! If you take a look at the current B&C muledeer listings...Colo rocks! Colo offers world class muledeer in a wide range of units spread across the state! All draw deer in Colo has been a success story and the same could hold true with elk if they hexed OTC tags and went to all draw!
Also, if Colo converted to all draw elk doesn't mean there are fewer tags. The CPW could finally manage the elk population and hunter numbers individually in all units. They could actually offer more or fewer tags accordingly.
X2. People have this concern that if elk go all draw it will suddenly take 10 years to get a tag. When deer went all draw it’s not like it started taking 10 points to draw a decent or even great deer tag. It would be no different then the current deer draw if elk went all draw and I don’t see to many people complaining about the quantity of Colorado deer tags or the quality of Colorado deer.
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X2. People have this concern that if elk go all draw it will suddenly take 10 years to get a tag. When deer went all draw it’s not like it started taking 10 points to draw a decent or even great deer tag. It would be no different then the current deer draw if elk went all draw and I don’t see to many people complaining about the quantity of Colorado deer tags or the quality of Colorado deer.
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I'm not solely blaming non residents for anything don't get riled up. At some point everyone needs to be limited there are just too many people out there anymore, it is what it is. Yeah they lowered nonresident bear tag prices for next year, great that was only 5 years too late. They could do all sorts of things, but none of it will matter until they actually do real herd counts and can manage the elk on a unit to unit basis like deer. I also think a hard cap on non residents should take effect like other western states.
Most people recognize that its not going to be instant but 10-15 years down the road, thats when it starts taking longer. I will try and find the study but there is one that studied States that went from non point systems to point systems. The first 7 years nothing changed. After 7 years point creep take hold and it gets worse by the year.
Because it hasn't happened to you it doesn't happen?But hasn’t the deer draw been going on close to that long now in CO? I haven’t seen much for point creep on deer where I hunt, actually in the unit I hunt it has gotten easier to get a deer tag.
But hasn’t the deer draw been going on close to that long now in CO? I haven’t seen much for point creep on deer where I hunt, actually in the unit I hunt it has gotten easier to get a deer tag.
Because it hasn't happened to you it doesn't happen?
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