CO Elk Hunting and Loss of Freedom

[Colorado Cowboy]

National Forest. There was a good article in our local paper today about this. According to the story Rio grande NF is the only other NF here in Co. that allows it. Additionally it is being considered Flagstaff, Az and a limited retrival is allowed in Black Hills NF. As I stated in my previous post, each NF enacts rules that are tailored to their conditions, not just a copy of all the other NFs regs.

My experience is that BLM is a lot less strict in their allowable uses and plans.

 

[dogdinger]

Originally Posted by Boss Hoss
Yes we should stick together---I am putting together a letter to support what Uncle is doing right now to prevent damage to the forest. Since the area around my friends cabin was made a wilderness area the amount and quality of the game had increased! I support it 101% because there are too many goobers on the put puts that just ride around to see what they can scare up.


You knock yourself out with them letters to uncle Obama, Boss. Me,im gonna keep fighting for access rights on public land for all of us. Same principle as the gun grabbers taking the sat night specials and the assault rifles. let the camels nose under the tent and pretty soon you are sleeping with him.

 

[Boss Hoss]

Edited

 

[dogdinger]

"Have fun in your double wide ole buddy!"


I rest my case on "ellite snobberry"

 

[Boss Hoss]

Removed

 

[Len Backus]

Cool it guys.

 

[Biggs300]

Just got back from an elk hunt in CO's GMU 53 which was (is) also restricted to foot and horse traffic only. The area is rugged, very pristine and I can't imagine spoiling it with ATV's, pickups and the like. Yeah, it is a lot harder to get an elk out of remote areas, but IMHO, that is the way it should be. I'm not a tree-hugger or an enviromentalist but the last thing I want to see or hear while I'm out in the boonies of CO is a motorized vehicle. It was bad enough having a hunter(s) leading horses or mules through the area you are hunting (it happened twice) but I would have really be PO'd if it would have been atv's or other motorized vehicles. To me, the restrictions are a GOOD THING.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Understand one thing, the main issue is NOT building or adding NEW roads, but shutting down existing roads.

 

[Elkmen]

I was on my first elk hunt in 1958 and my most recent one last week. I have hunted in several states and continue to do so yearly and will continue as long as I have a breath in me.
Now to my take on this matter, I have never been in any area where the quality of the elk, the hunt and the numbers have not increased when vehicle restrictions have been implemented. In every state that I have hunted for elk vehicle restrictions have enhanced the opportunities, for all hunters. Many of these ristrictions are seasonal and traffic is allowed at other times of the year. It is not a matter of being an elitist, it is a matter of sound game management. I will fight as hard as I can against environmentalists wanting to lock up our public lands for no access, or for endangered species that are not endangered, but road and travel restrictions are a sound big game management tool. Better hunting for all. !

 

[orion2000]

Rules are Rules and Idiots will always break them.
...
The best way to stop it is create a law with teeth; 25 yards off of any established/marked truck/atv trail and the wheeler is confiscated. no exceptions.

Bingo... If you shoot a bear/cat/moose without a tag, HUGE fines, loss of weapons, vehicles etc... Why not enact same/similar fines for irresponsible ORV use ??? Caught with an ORV where you are not supposed to be ? Huge fine, loss of ORV....

I am a 54 year old flat lander from 800 ft elevation. I use an ATV in Colorado to drive 10 to 12 miles, on established roads, from our cabin to parking areas. Then pack in 2 to 3 miles, 500 to 1000 ft vertical, to hunt. Twice this year I hiked in past the last of the horse hockey, and past the last of the boot prints in the week old snow. Tired of hearing the lame talk about ALL ATV riders are lazy slobs destroying everything. If someone breaks the law bust 'em. Make the penalties Draconian to the point that you scare the Bee Jeepers of potential offenders. IF they do break the law, make examples of them. Don't make life miserable for everyone because of the few.

As mentioned above, the hiking on foot vs horse back vs ORV vs Truck is simply an easy "divide and conquer" strategy for the anti-hunters... No different from the lead bullet/shot versus copper/tungsten. Same strategy as (save our children) Hand guns versus (evil black) assault rifles versus sporting weapons...

We have enough knuckle heads outside the hunting community trying to shut us down. We do not need to be providing them with ammo to use against us...

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

One thing everyone who doesn't live near or in the mountains doesn't see is that not all of the illegal ohv use is from hunters. In fact in my experience here in SW Colorado most of it occurs during off season by recreational users...not hunters. All summer I see trailer loads of ohv's from Arizona & New Mexico ( lots of Colorado plates too) coming here to camp out and enjoy our area. I hike and drive my ohv (only on legal roads) all summer scouting different areas for hunting and see lots of abuse and illegal use. At this time of year I see very few law enforcement type around to enforce rules.

Without pointing fingers at any one group, draw your own conclusions.

 

[extreme]

I have hunted elk,,, mule deer all my life in colorado and wyoming
and i have always used a horse...they go anywhere easily and i can get well in where i hardly ever see another hunter.
I respect all hunters that hunt on foot but after 2 days of carrying out a elk i very quickly bought a horse. I started elk hunting in
1970..

 

[tbrass]

From what it sounds like, the majority of folks on the forum agree that there needs to be better enforcement of ORV users. As Orion2000 put it "... If you shoot a bear/cat/moose without a tag, HUGE fines, loss of weapons, vehicles etc... Why not enact same/similar fines for irresponsible ORV use ???" I totally agree with this, the only barrier is that it is often difficult to identify the people who are using ORV's in an irresponsible manner, largely because the identification is so small that unless the ORV is stopped, in good light and within 20 or so feet, good luck getting the registration numbers needed to report the person. Fortunately, a variety of sportsmen organizations are working together throughout the West to ensure that a "few bad apples" do not taint the image of ORV-users. To do this, we are looking to increase the size of ID's on ORV's and increase fines for illegal use. To keep updated on the progress of this project follow the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers on Facebook by "Liking" our facebook page.

 

[tbrass]

From what it sounds like, the majority of folks on the forum agree that there needs to be better enforcement of ORV users. As Orion2000 put it "... If you shoot a bear/cat/moose without a tag, HUGE fines, loss of weapons, vehicles etc... Why not enact same/similar fines for irresponsible ORV use ???" I totally agree with this, the only barrier is that it is often difficult to identify the people who are using ORV's in an irresponsible manner, largely because the identification is so small that unless the ORV is stopped, in good light and within 20 or so feet, good luck getting the registration numbers needed to report the person. Fortunately, a variety of sportsmen organizations are working together throughout the West to ensure that a "few bad apples" do not taint the image of ORV-users. To do this, we are looking to increase the size of ID's on ORV's and increase fines for illegal use. To keep updated on the progress of this project follow the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers on Facebook by "Liking" our facebook page.

Also, if you see someone breaking the law please take advantage of BHA's Reward Program, which provides up to $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of a violator.