|
Big Game Hunting
Resource for Big Game Hunting
Big game hunting requires a lot of skill, knowledge
and patience. It is also best to acquire the services of a reputable big
game hunting guide or outfitters. They can make your trip more successful.
Try OAOA for a great start.
It's also best to have the finest big game hunting
gear you can afford. On this page you can find links to the gear you need
for your next big game hunting adventure.
'We hope that your big game hunting trip will be
pleasant and successful.
As the temperature dropped and golden leaves crunched
beneath our feet this fall, many Colorado hunters headed for the wilds, hiking
along mountain slopes with a rifle or bow in hand in search of our state's
prized elk, mule deer and other wildlife. But as we savored Colorado's outdoors
and celebrated our hunting tradition, many sportsmen and sportswomen had
something gnawing at the back of their minds - the future of roadless lands on
our national forests.
A special, bipartisan task force was recently appointed by Colorado Gov. Bill
Owens and the state Legislature. This task force has been charged with making
recommendations about whether to protect Colorado's last roadless forests. The
task force will hold public meetings across the state to gather residents' input
about roadless areas throughout Colorado's national forests.
Big-game hunters have a big stake in whether forests remain protected. Building
new roads into our national forests would reduce habitat security for elk and
mule deer and, in the long run, reduce hunter opportunity. Protecting Colorado's
forests, water and wildlife is important to ensuring that future generations of
hunters enjoy the opportunities that we now have in Colorado's national forests.
Wildlife biologists, who have studied the impacts of cutting new roads on
pristine lands, have found increased big game mortality during the hunting
season, drastically reducing the average age of males in the herd and decreasing
male-to-female ratios. Such trends reduce the vitality of big-game herds. In
worst-case scenarios, wildlife officials could be forced to cut back on hunting
opportunities in order to protect elk and mule deer populations. The end result
could be shorter hunting seasons, a reduced number of limited entry permits and
more antler-type restrictions (such as brow-tyne restrictions) attached to the
permits.
The most famous example of road-building in pristine areas leading to reduced
hunting opportunities involves the Targhee National Forest just west of
Yellowstone National Park. When the area suffered an inordinate amount of
road-building, Idaho wildlife officials were forced to reduce the elk hunting
season from 44 to five days.
Clever opponents of roadless land protection might argue that new roads provide
hunters with more opportunity. They might say that the new roads provide easy
access to areas that were previously too hard to get to. The truth of the matter
is that we already have good access. More than 94 percent of Colorado's roadless
areas are within two miles of a road. We need to maintain quality habitat for
wildlife populations, and more roads won't do that.
A study in western Montana showed that, as the amount of roads increased, hunter
harvest of mature bull elk increased as well, but only for a short time. After a
few years, the number of mature bull elk harvested dropped dramatically.
Biologists in the area surmise that the drop was due to the fact that there were
few, if any, mature bull elk left in the area. They had either been harvested
during previous hunting seasons or left the area because of its low habitat
security.
In fact, a Journal of Forestry article reported that two miles of road per
square mile can cut elk populations in half. Six miles of roads per square mile
can nearly destroy an entire elk population. Just imagine what would happen to
big-game populations to our last remaining roadless areas if new roads
crisscross critical habitat.
Most sportsmen and sportswomen understand this. A poll conducted in 2000 by the
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance found that 83 percent of hunters polled
supported efforts to keep the remaining roadless areas in national forests the
way they are.
It's time for hunters to stand front and center on this issue. The task force
needs to be told, and told often, that many of our cherished elk and mule deer
herds depend on roadless lands, as do other wildlife such as black bear and
mountain lion. I urge all big-game hunters to attend upcoming meetings when they
come to your area and urge the Colorado Roadless Area Task Force to protect our
hunting opportunities and the opportunities of our children and grandchildren.
Regardless of whether you are able to attend the meetings and testify about the
special places you visit, please write the task force. Its members are looking
for specific recommendations on roadless areas you have visited and that you
deem important to protect. It is accepting e-mail comments on its website,
www.keystone.org/html/roadless_areas_task_force.html, or you can write to
the task force at the Keystone Center, Attention: Roadless Areas Review, 1628
Sts. John Road, Keystone, CO 80435. To learn when and where the Task Force will
be in you area, follow the website referenced above.
Mike Murphy is the owner of T Bar M Outfitters in Durango, and Dennis
Buechler is with the Colorado Wildlife Federation in Centennial.
|
