COMMISSION OPENS FISHING REGS FOR REVIEW; APPROVES CHANGES FOR BIG GAME REGULATIONS AND FALCONRY

A summary of action taken and highlights from the March 10-11 meeting of the Colorado Wildlife Commission


The Colorado Wildlife Commission opened fishing regulations to review and approved changes to regulations affecting falconry and big game, among other matters.

Division of Wildlife (DOW) Fisheries chief Eric Hughes presented 41 issues papers to the Commission, opening fishing regulations for review, as is scheduled every five years. Hughes told the Commission that his staff had worked for the past six months to identify these issues by holding public meetings, requesting suggestions for changes, and contacting interested groups and individuals. Many of the proposed changes are designed to make regulations easier to understand and enforce; to clarify language and boundaries; to make regulations consistent where there have been varying regulations on different parts of one body of water; and to change size and bag limits on some species in some areas to improve the quality of these fisheries. The Commission also directed staff to prepare some updated definitions in Chapter 1, including “float tubes” and “artificial bait and lures” to clarify the intent of regulations.

The proposed issues and changes in fishing regulations will be discussed in detail at the Commission’s April 7 workshop in Yuma, Colorado.

The Commission also approved corrections and administrative changes to the 2005 big game seasons with a focus on season dates, limited license areas and manner of take provisions for sheep, goat, deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and bear. The commission approved a regulation authorizing the director of the DOW to establish – and area wildlife managers to issue – licenses for bear and mountain lion in addition to the otherwise applicable limited license numbers or quota where necessary to address specific game damage situations. The license was designed only to deal with situations where a specific geographic quota had been reached, but a lion or bear is causing damage and needs to be removed. This allows licensed hunters to take a dangerous or depredating lion through the special authorization.

The changes to falconry regulations included additions to the regulations corresponding to the take of young peregrine falcons (eyas birds) from the nest or recently fledged peregrine falcons, for use in the sport of falconry. A maximum of four peregrine falcon capture licenses may be issued to licensed Colorado master falconers by random drawing process in 2005. An eyas bird may be removed from a nest only when there will be one or more other eyas birds left in the nest; no permitted falconer may remove all young from any nest site. A DOW representative must be present during the attempted capture of any peregrine falcon eyas bird. Attempts to remove peregrines (either eyas birds or recently fledged young) are prohibited when the Division determines the removal may be unsafe or circumstances may threaten the survival of the young or the return of adults to the nest.

Proponents of the regulation noted that falconry, also known as hawking, is one of the oldest sports in continuous practice with historical references dating as much as 3,000 years ago, and falconry is unique in being the only sport in world history to have a wild animal as the central participant.
 
To learn more about the Colorado Wildlife Commission, its members and its mission, visit http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeCommission/commissi.asp.
 
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