It was a compromise no one thought could happen, this agreement salvaged Saturday from the last gasp of the Big Game License Allocation Working Group.
The question left hanging in the rarefied air of the Leadville meeting site is whether this is a bargain Colorado sportsmen can, or should, swallow.
In an apparent determination to redeem something from what had been nearly two months of stalemate, this 15-member committee landed on a series of recommendations that subsequently will be affirmed or rejected by the Colorado Wildlife Commission.
The change that rings loudest to rank-and-file sportsmen already angry about creeping commercialization of the state’s wildlife would increase the share of landowner preference licenses from 15 to 18 percent.
These are the vouchers sliced straight off the top of all limited licenses issued in each game management unit. Vouchers are sold on the open market or peddled to outfitters, typically for thousands of dollars, and may be used anywhere in the unit.
It was a landowner attempt last autumn to further boost this share that prompted a resounding backlash among public hunters, an uproar that ultimately prompted a beleaguered Division of Wildlife to convene the current committee.
If the commission approves these recommendations – which include a huge boost in landowner licenses in eastern Colorado and a big bump in the share of difficult-to-draw tags in units 1, 2, 10 and 201 – commercial interests will get much of what they initially wanted.
On the eastern plains, the landowner share would grow from 15 percent on the eastern plains to 35 percent. In the extreme northwest, where it takes up to 15 preference points to draw an elk license, the landowner cut would jump from 15 percent to 25.
In what was swallowed as an act of concession, landowners agreed to allow those who purchase their vouchers to hunt on the ranch of the person issuing the tag. Such supposed magnanimity ignores the fact that many properties that sell vouchers don’t contain animals for which the tags are issued or that enforcing such a stricture becomes an impossible nightmare for the Division of Wildlife.
So much for equal opportunity and the notion that the state’s wildlife isn’t for sale to the highest bidder.
Addressing the other major issue associated with license allocation, the committee proposed the portion of remaining special licenses reserved for Colorado residents be increased to 67 percent, up from 60. This reflects a growing dissatisfaction with a nonresident percentage that’s far greater than in neighboring states and the fact that resident participation in big game hunting has increased dramatically while outsiders have declined.
The committee also explored three changes to better manage the preference point system that rewards those who don’t succeed in drawing a license. One would eliminate the practice of awarding a point to those who submit an improper application. Similarly, those who receive a license but decide not to hunt would no longer receive a point, except in family emergencies.
Another proposal popular with the committee would strip away the preference points of anyone who hunts with a landowner voucher.
Proponents hail the committee’s actions as a triumph for compromise, a signal that the various components of the wildlife political fabric – sportsmen, landowners, outfitters and local business – can make nice and live happily ever after. Or at least until landowners and outfitters make their next push for a bigger slice of the pie.
Ultimately, the Wildlife Commission will decide over the next few months which of these recommendations to keep or throw away. The public will have an opportunity to comment in a series of statewide meetings to be scheduled next month, as well as through written comments. Let’s hope everyone has a say.
Listen to Charlie Meyers at 9 a.m. each Saturday on “The Fan Outdoors,” radio KKFN 950 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
