Colorado Parks and Wildlife seeks public input on Big Game Season Structure for 2020-2024

DENVER – Colorado Parks and Wildlife seeks public input on the structure of the state’s big game hunting seasons for 2020 through 2024. A public comment form is now available online (By clicking this link you will be taken away from Four Corners SCI), and several public meetings will be held in early 2019 for interested parties to share information and comments.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission sets big game season structures in five-year increments, providing consistency for sportsmen, hunting-related businesses, landowners and communities. Colorado’s big game hunting seasons are used to manage the state’s big game species like – deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, and black bear.

“It’s important to get public input and hear ideas from hunters and the communities that have an interest in our hunting seasons,” says Andy Holland, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Big Game Manager. “Big game season structure is about designing hunting seasons that provide a broad range of hunting experiences and manage big game populations to Herd Management Plan objectives.”

The public comment form specifically asks for input on issues including season length and timing, overlap among different seasons and breaks between seasons and the start and ending dates of seasons. The survey also asks for feedback on youth hunting, safety concerns and archery hunting strategies. Public comment will be accepted through Feb. 4, 2019.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife carefully considers the public’s comments when making changes to the season structure. A summary of the public’s input will be presented to the Commission in March for final recommendations and adoption by the Commission in July or September 2019.​​

Colorado’s 2017 big game hunting seasons generated over $840 million, according to the 2017 Economic Contributions of Outdoor Recreation in Colorado report. To learn more about Colorado’s big game season structure process and timeline, visit cpw.state.co.us​.

CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 41 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW’s work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.