Going For Elk In Colorado In 1999? 
Better plan right now!

The 1999 elk season in Colorado promises to be one of the best ever.

After a very mild winter and with most herds at or over recommended levels, this promises to be one of the best years ever for elk hunting in Colorado. Another good thing? There will be no license fee increases in Colorado this year for hunters. 

But there are also some changes this year for hunters in Colorado.

The Colorado Wildlife Commission recently approved some changes for the 1999 big game hunting seasons that you should be aware of. 

First of all the Commission -- citing concerns about the state's mule deer herd -- stated its intent to go to totally limited deer licenses beginning this year. This means that anyone who wishes to hunt deer in Colorado in 1999 must apply for a license through the division's limited license process. Applications are due by April 6th.

This decision was widely supported by hunters and conservation groups because of declining deer herds as low as 20% below management objectives in many parts of the state. Until researchers can determine the cause of this decrease and remedy it, limited licenses will be the wave of the future. Division director John Muma has made mule deer research a top priority in the state.

The Commission also changed the way elk licenses will be issued in 1999. Cow elk licenses will be issued through the limited license drawing and an unlimited number of bull licenses will be sold over-the-counter for most areas in 1999. This is a change from the procedure used to issue elk licenses in 1998 and a return to the way they were issued prior to 1997.
Last year either-sex licenses, valid in a large area of the state, were unlimited. But the Commissioners voted not to continue that practice for 1999. The reason for the change was that biologists have not had an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of 1998's either sex licenses. The practice of either sex licenses may return in 2000. But at the same time there will be large numbers of cow licenses available to move the state's elk herd closer to objective levels. A low kill the last two years has swelled the state's herd. Still, the primary goal is to reduce hunter crowding while increasing hunter's success rates. In light of that, several areas in the state will still be a draw for either bull or cow licenses.

Also reinstated this year is the return to in-line muzzleloaders. In-lines were banned during the 1998 muzzle loading season but a recent survey showed that more people supported the in-line season than opposed it. But concerns over the large kill by muzzleloader hunters may mean that in the future the muzzle loading season would not be concurrent with the archery season and placed back in time after the rut. This is good news for archers who have to compete with muzzleloaders for nine days of the archery season.

So if you're thinking about hunting elk in Colorado in 1999 it will be a good year because herd levels are at an all-time high and license fees are still low. 
You can receive a copy of the new regulations by calling the Colorado Division of Wildlife at (303) 297-1192 and asking them to send you one. Applications for draw areas needs to be in by April 6th. 

For topo maps of Colorado call the U.S. Geological Survey at 1-800-435-7627 and request a Colorado base map and from that you can order maps for the specific areas you will be hunting. 

Good luck and God Bless, John 

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