Colorado Hunting News

If you are interested in teaching young people and novices how to hunt, the Colorado Division of Wildlife wants you.

The DOW has scheduled a training session for people in southwestern Colorado who want to become volunteer “Huntmasters.” The weekend training session is Aug. 4-5 in Durango; anyone interested must pre-register by July 15.

Throughout Colorado, Huntmasters lead young hunters and their parents on special hunts to provide instruction in outdoor skills, wildlife, camping and all aspects of hunting, explained Jim Bulger, Hunter Outreach Coordinator for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
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The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) is seeking to expand its Walk-In Access Program in western Colorado. Additional funding has been provided to enroll acreages where landowners are interested in providing public small game, turkey and waterfowl access during the upcoming hunting seasons. Big game hunting is not part of this program.

The Walk-In Access Program was originally designed to give hunters in eastern Colorado opportunity to harvest pheasants and small game. Additionally, the program provides an alternative revenue opportunity for landowners outside of the usual crop growing season.
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With the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday this year, Colorado anglers are facing a bit of a dilemma: Whether to take a couple of days before the holiday and return in time for the local fireworks display, or to leave town on the Fourth and fish through a long weekend.

Either way, fishing conditions statewide appear hot as the proverbial firecracker.

The annual runoff has peaked on rivers statewide. Though a few remain high, virtually all are fishably clear. Seasonal hatches of aquatic insects including green drakes, summer caddis, pale morning duns and yellow stoneflies are under way, providing fly fishermen with a wealth of possibilities. Spin-fishermen also are likely to find frisky trout in the river of their choice.
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A very popular Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) program is adding opportunities which will benefit small game hunters and landowners alike. Walk-In Access Program (WIA) participants in 2007 will find additional access earlier in the season for a wider range of small game and waterfowl species across a much larger area of Colorado. All this is contingent on the Colorado Wildlife Commission adopting regulations at their July meeting that will allow the access program to offer opportunity beginning in September of 2007. This change could increase hunter opportunity for early autumn seasons, but also increase the range of the popular access program.
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America’s passion for wildlife and the outdoors continues to be a major engine of the nation’s economy, according to preliminary survey data released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2006, more than 87 million Americans, or 38 percent of the United States’ population age 16 and older hunted, fished or observed wildlife. They spent $120 billion that year pursuing those activities – an amount roughly equal to Americans’ total spending at all spectator sports, casinos, motion pictures, golf courses and country clubs, amusement parks and arcades combined.
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The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) is urging campers to keep their campsites clean to avoid attracting wildlife.

Every year bears go into campgrounds because food is often available around tents, camp trailers and in dumpsters. Problems result when bears and humans come into close contact.
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The official arrival of summer brings hints of both the heydays and the dog days to Colorado anglers, but also some reminders of the torrents of spring.

While most rivers across the state are dropping and clearing after the peak of runoff, a few are running higher than they have all spring. In western Colorado, flows in the upper Colorado River basin recently were raised significantly, and streams such as the Colorado, Blue and Williams Fork at best are marginal for fishing.
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