Hello: I will send an email saying that ending the program would stop people like me from coming to Colorado to hunt. My brother and I just booked our first hunt in Colorado with an outfit mostly because we could get tags through the Colorado Ranching for Wildlife Program. The hunt we booked is for antelope near Craig. I think it would be unfortunate to stop this program. If I had to draw for tags in Colorado (or elsewhere), I would not hunt there.

Thanx for your support. I hope that you enjoy your hunt. There are tons of antelope near Craig and some really big bucks. Take a camera and lots of film and use it. There is some beautiful scienery up there.

Just tried to send the CO DOW a mail - their e-mail page on the website does not seem to work. Have another address??

Since I have benefitted from the Ranching for Wildlife program in the past, I figured I'd better do my little bit. Here is what I'd like to send:

Quote:

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Dear Sir or Madam,
Is it true that the CO DOW is planning to terminate the "Ranching for Wildlife" program in CO?? If yes, allow me to protest this decision!

The Ranching for Wildlife has been one of the success stories of the American West for the last decade or so - benefitting game populations, resident and non-resident hunters as well as land owners. We need more such programs, not less!

I certainly hope CO will live up to its tradition of sensible game management, and keep or expand the Ranching for Wildife program!

Regards - Michael Hohwy, Switzerland

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I don't think they are going to cancel the program, according to this tread on www.bowsite.com

http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/TF/REGIONAL/thread.cfm?threadid=90836&MESSAGES=15&state=Co

The DOW will probably look at the program since they are in the planning stages for the next 5 year season structure.

Personally I hope they cancel the program. If it wasn't for that program maybe there would be more tags for the average guy to draw. That tag to hunt near Craig will take me six years at a minimum to draw. You do it this year if you want to pay the price. The program was initially designed to control the herds not be a way for ranchers to make a dollar.



This program is abused like the CWMU hunt in UT. The rancher there picks the days you can hunt. The guy that buys his tag gets the premium days you get what the rancher wants to give you. I hunted a ranch a few years ago that honestly holds 370+ bulls but the times they are on the ranch is short. Well I drew a tag but the week we hunted we saw no elk in 5 days. The same went for the other no paying hunters that were all given the same period to hunt. When I finished the ranch manager offered to let me come back later for $3500.00 and guarenteed a bull. He tried to justify it saying that that the tags he gets from the State for letting the CWMU hunters on the ranch would cost $6500.00.

Here's another email address.

wildlife.comm@state.co.us

I disagree that doing away would create more tags. On the contrary lots of people that have been building up points to hunt on a ranch would now have to look else where. A tag that now takes 5 or 6 points could then take 7 or 8 as more people try to get the same tags.

I could be wrong but I thought that non-resident hunters could not hunt RFW ranches anyway...........only locals. So how would this change negatively impact us???

MHO

You have it wrong. A non-resident must buy the tag from the land owner. Only Colo residents can apply for a draw tag. The Colo DOW put that in effect as a way to offer a premium tag to the residents. Kind of a benefit for paying all those state taxes.

I've hunted several of these ranches fordeer, elk antelope and bear and don't beievt they will do away with it. This is an extrememly popular program for everyone. A guy like me can get on property I would not otherwise be able to and the landowner has an incentive to keep the land in a manner that makes it worth having the game around.

I remember when a fellow couldn't get on these ranches and the DOW would have to go in and shoot herds of deer and elk off the ranches or pay big bucks in damage claims. The deer, elk and antelope still got shot, but it was DOW employess that did it and a lot of it was done at night with spotlights. You don't hear about that anymore. Now those animals are worth money. I don't mind ranchers making a buck off it. Most these guys are scraping to get by and if this helps keep the land from being sold to an out of state developer or even worse a Hollywood celebrity I'm all for it.

Mac

1. Nonresidents can buy the tags from the land owners so they too can hunt the ranch. In fact, most of the covetited male or either sex tags go to nonresidents this way. And it means that you can just go instead of waiting 8 to 10 years like us residents.

2. If all the residents that have been saving up points to hunt a ranch are suddenly denied that possibility they are going to have to look at other places to hunt. The first place they'll look is in the other premium units like 1 and 201. So there'll be alot more competition for the tags in thoes units and nonresidents that may be close to drawing a tag for that once in a lifetime bull hunt may suddenly find it taking 2 or 3 more points to draw because of the added competition.

3. This program allows some of the ranches to stay afloat. If they take away the money they make from this program all or parts of some of these ranches may be broken up and sold off. This is bad for the animals and the hunters. It's kind of hard to hunt on a little 35 acre ranchette.

4. The hunting that takes place on thoes ranches does move the animals around and some of them off the property. There they are fair game for all of the hunters on public property. On the ranch that I hunted the season started 3 days before the regular season. That gave 3 days of the animals being moved and chased before the public hunters got their turn and I saw some animals leaving the property. Otherwise they would just stay there where noone could hunt them.

I hope that answers how it would negetively affect the nonresidents as well as the residents.

Residents do not have to wait the 8-10 years. The tags the ranchers have can be sold to anyone willing to pay the price. All I know is that I have 12 preference points and still am years away for an elk hunt in area 2 or 10. When they designated only 20% to nonresident it killed my chances for the forseable future. And I just don't have the dollars to pay $3500.00+ for the private ranch hunts. Guess all the systems have there + and -.

I don't have the 2003 data in front of me but in 2002 it took 13 points or a nonresident to draw a bull tag in area 2. It took a resident, 13 points, the same amount as a nonresident. Area 10 was 12 points for a resident and 13 for a nonresident. And it's 40%, not 20% for nonresidents. If a resident wants to draw a bull tag for RFW it takes 8 points or more for a good ranch. Yes we can buy the tags but most of the sold tags go to nonresidents.

I will bet that this program is not perfect, but it is better than not having it. Someone mentioned that they were put in bad areas. It is important to note that public hunters must have a success rate within a certain percentage (5% rings a bell) of the ranch's private clients or the RFW for that particular ranch will be discontinued. Not bad when you consider that the private clients are guided and almost all of the public hunters are not. I have hunted this program 3 times on two ranches and I was successful twice, but had a great time each time. I hope and expect it to continue.

Deke.

For me and everyone I know that's hunted RFW we all had a great time. I only know one person who didn't get an elk and that was his fault, not the ranches. We mostly get cow tags and none of us want to wait 9 or more years to hunt. Good luck this fall.