Hunting Archery Duck Deer

The end might be nearer than you thought.

On Thursday, the Colorado Wildlife Commission approved issuing 15,000 fewer cow-elk and either-sex licenses for this fall’s big-game season, the first in what might be a short but meaningful series of substantial cuts in antlerless elk tags.

And the real cuts, as if these weren’t real enough to hunters who rely on a cow elk to fill the freezer, may come as early as two or three years down the road when, if everything plays out as forecast, the number of cow elk and either-sex licenses may sliced by half, down to 60,000-75,000 from the high of nearly 152,000 issued last year.

The ease of drawing a cow tag for one, two or even three seasons will a thing of the past.

“Getting a cow license is no longer a big deal,” said Rick Kahn, the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s state big-game supervisor. “But some of those licenses may not be as available in the next couple of years.”

In a classic example of the pendulum-like swings in wildlife herds, only a few years ago the DOW was worried about having too many elk for the available habitat and asked, and in some places mandated, hunters to harvest more cow elk.

It was made easier by quickly pumping up the cow license numbers, adding the either-sex tag to the mix and even making it possible for a hunter to hold two or three cow tags in one year.

It took a couple of years for hunters to get really keyed into the role of harvesting cow elk. In 1998, the agency issued only 46,305 antlerless and either-sex tags. By 1999, that number was up to 67,800 and then the dam burst. It jumped to nearly 107,000 in 2000, and kept bounding upward until last year’s peak.

Hunters certainly carried out their part of the bargain. After watching hunters harvest cows at nearly 30,000 per year over the previous five years and running up several record elk harvests, biologists now find themselves facing what some people never thought possible six years ago: The state’s elk herds are reaching equilibrium.

“If we get the harvest we predict for 2006, we will be within 5-7 percent of our statewide population objective,” Kahn told the wildlife commission. “When that happens, we’ll no longer need nearly the number of licenses we issue now and hunting opportunity will not be as plentiful.”

It’s simple herd dynamics, Kahn explained. When populations are high, biologists put added pressure on the reproductive side to bring herds down. As herds reach optimum levels, less pressure — meaning fewer licenses — are needed to maintain herd numbers.

License numbers might drop even more if the state suffers a hard winter and loses some of its elk.

Don’t worry, though, about the state running out of elk. Post-hunt estimates last January put elk numbers at 258,370, still 23,000 or so above the preferred population level. This year’s spring crop of calf elk was high nearly everywhere except in the southwest, where drought and poor forage conditions likely combined to decrease productivity.

Most of the state reported a ratio of 45 calves to every 100 cows, and in the northwest that ratio was even better at more than 50 calves per 100 cows, Kahn said. The southwestern corner, however, was down to 30 calves per 100 cows and license numbers reflected that poor productivity. For example, in game management unit 71 northwest of Durango, cow licenses were cut from 900 to 600.

DOW biologists this year are forecasting about 157,000 elk, all the while acknowledging results are heavily dependent on weather conditions.

A reverse trend is being shown by the state’s deer herds, which have rebounded from all-time lows to the point where biologists are increasing buck tags and issuing additional antlerless deer tags in an effort to encourage hunters to harvest more does. Statewide, buck/doe ratios are near 30 bucks per 100 does, Kahn said.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in our northwest deer herds,” he said. “The Piceance Basin herd is 30,000 over (population) objective.”

Antlerless and either-sex deer licenses were increased by more than 6,000 to 37,802 and buck tags jumped by 864 to 91,903 for rifle, archery and muzzleloading seasons.

Bear licenses dropped roughly 10 percent this year to 10,721 in response to hunters getting increasingly effective.

“Our hunters have learned very well how to hunt bears,” Kahn said. “It’s time for a bit of caution.”

Hunters last year killed 449 black bears and biologists forecast a harvest of 507 bears this year.

A year’s worth of rain certainly helped the state’s pronghorn population and license numbers reflect that, especially on the eastern plains. Statewide, pronghorn licenses rose from 8,543 last year to 11,651, not including archery and blackpowder licenses.

Moose licenses this year increased slightly, from 159 to 174 statewide. The Grand Mesa moose herd won’t be hunted for several years.