Weighing up to 1,000 pounds and towering 6 feet high at the shoulder, moose are Colorado’s largest wild mammal. While moose sightings are fairly common today, moose were quite rare in Colorado throughout most of the 20th century. But, thanks to successful reintroduction and management by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado’s moose are now one of the fastest-growing herds in the lower 48 states.
Read moreFor the 2019-20 Colorado pheasant hunting season, hunters can expect a year similar to, but probably somewhat better than last season, which was a decent year. This season, we had relatively good moisture conditions over the summer, so we can expect more birds in the fields. In terms of quail hunting, the outlook is a little different. Bobwhite quail numbers in the southeast region looked pretty good, while scaled quail are a bit down from the heyday of a few years ago. In the Northeast, bobwhite quail have mixed results – some properties have good covies and good size to the covies, while other properties, not so much. It’s looking like a spotty hit or miss quail hunting this season.
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This summer when you visit a state park and head up a favorite trail, I want to give you something to think about besides the wildflowers you may see and the wildlife you may encounter on your journey.
Please think about the trail itself, the work that went into its creation and the people who made it happen.
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Colorado has a reputation for our outdoorsy ways and adventurous attitudes.
We love to raft and kayak in whitewater, such as in the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. We water ski at places like Lake Pueblo State Park. We plunge down snowpacked mountainsides on skis. We mountain bike on remote single-tracks. We climb cliffs. We run steep inclines for exercise and fun. We fish and hunt and go wildlife viewing. We live life outside.
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Every year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) big-game biologists compile data on the state’s deer, elk and pronghorn herds by Data Analysis Units (DAU). These DAUs encompass several of the Game Management Units (GMU) that hunters are more familiar with.
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While the biblical Garden of Eden is said to have been located in modern day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in my mind, western Colorado’s piscine paradise is undoubtedly the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. The Lake Fork, which is located south of Gunnison along Highway 149 near Lake City, is the least known of the Gunnison River’s major tributaries. This comparatively uncrowded trout stream is surrounded by stunning scenery, has big fish potential, and angles particularly well in the springtime. It is a local favorite and where many area guides prefer to fish on their infrequent days off; I’m not sure a trout stream can receive a more glowing endorsement than that.
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Today, roughly 11.5 million Americans hunt in a country of 320 million people, according to American Hunter magazine. This means that less than 5% of people in the U.S. hunt. From 2006 to 2016, 1 million Americans stopped hunting. The Aspen Times stated in a 2007 article that the number of people hunting in Colorado decreased 24 percent from 1991 to 2006. In a Colorado Hunter article titled “Hunting is for Girls,” the author pointed out that the average hunter in Colorado is a 55-year-old white male. In other words, the clock is ticking.
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When I was in college, a million years ago, there were two classes I needed, and dreaded, to complete my biology degree: parasitology and geology.
I put off taking them as long as I could but eventually had to bite the proverbial bullet. I was right all along about parasitology. It really bugged me. (Sorry.) But geology was a pleasant surprise. It really rocked. (Sorry, again.)
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September in Colorado brings cooler mornings, the color change of Aspen leaves in the mountains, the fascination with pumpkin spice everything and most importantly, archery season. This year I got my first elk tag for a draw unit. In years prior, I hunted with an over the counter tag. The excitement of this hunt dwindled some as the summer passed due to the dozens of wildfires and severe drought. Hunting, in general, would be more difficult; I was going to have to work for it if I wanted a chance at harvesting a bull.