Steve Hilde has this grand plan, and it just might work.
But for that to happen, before Colorado big game hunters can gain access to thousands of private acres under a walk-in program, he needs your help. Lots of it.
“I need the help of all the wildlife groups. I can’t get this done on my own,” the Loveland resident said of a scheme that would pay participating landowners to allow public hunters on their property.
Hilde, who works for Hewlett-Packard and serves as a Colorado Bowhunters Association volunteer, made his first public pitch Tuesday night at a Sportsman’s Advisory Group (SAG) meeting in Loveland. He’ll continue the campaign at other SAG sites over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, he’d appreciate a show of support from all those folks out there who’ll benefit from a project that makes all too much sense for a state where access options seem to shrink by the minute.
What Hilde proposes is a system that provides for cash payments and other benefits to landowners who allow public access for big game hunting. It would operate as an overlay to existing state rules regarding harvest numbers, sex restrictions and preference points.
This plan embraces elements already in place for big game in Wyoming and Montana, as well as the walk-in program for pheasants in eastern Colorado. Until Hilde suggests something with a sexier sound, we’ll call it the Citizens Access Proposal.
The notion is to develop a way to put more public hunters on private land, reversing what has become a landslide trend in the opposite direction.
With the expansion of landowner vouchers and outfitter activity, high-stakes commercial hunting has become an increasingly bigger part of the Colorado scene.
Hilde believes there’s a place in the hunt-for-money game for a different approach, that a certain percentage of landowners will be more comfortable with an alternative that allows them more control over their property.
“It’s obvious that landowners already know how to make money off wildlife,” Hilde said. “At the same time, they’re busy and have other priorities.”
The incentive would come in providing comparable revenue while assisting ranchers with various aspects of management and chores.
Hilde is no wild-eyed dreamer. He concedes that such a plan probably won’t gain wide acceptance in a landowner community increasingly rooted in other commercial plans.
“But if we can place, say, 5 to 10 percent of public hunters on private land, just think how that will help years down the road.”
Whether such a plan would be financed through a users-pay format such as the one currently used for pheasants or from general wildlife funds is but one of several details that must be determined.
For now, Hilde’s energy is directed at gaining sponsorship from the Colorado Division of Wildlife toward eventual acceptance by the wildlife commission. To achieve this, he needs a broad public push. He wrote letters last week to various sportsman’s groups and will promote the initiative at various SAG meetings.
As far as DOW is concerned, it may not be a tough sell. But it could take a little time.
“I think there’s some merit, strictly as an access component,” said Tom Spezze, Southwest Region manager and the agency’s point man on access issues. “As a way to give sportsmen access to private land, it’s got some merit.”
Spezze emphasized the agency hasn’t had an opportunity for a full internal discussion – that details must be worked out before a recommendation might come forward. Sometime next year might be about right, Spezze said.
There’ll be an opportunity for the idea to be aired at the various SAG meetings. The next will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Arlington Inn in South Fork, followed by 6 p.m., July 11 at the DOW office in Colorado Springs, 4255 Sinton Road.
A northwest meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., July 18 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Grand Junction, 743 Horizon Drive. A thorough airing is expected at a final statewide meeting 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 29 at the Holiday Inn in Frisco, 1129 North Summit Blvd.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-820-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
