Colorado Lion hunting ballot initiative

[Hunter-Habib]

The land of the free is losing more & more freedom every single day.

@Woodcarver couldn't have worded it any better. A hunting ban on ANY species affects EVERY hunter. The antis know that the hunters who don't pursue mountain lion & bobcat will not protest over their draconian bill. This permits them to isolate the amount of hunters who DO pursue these quarry and outnumber them by making them look to the government as if they're a really small minority. Once mountain lion hunting & bobcat hunting gets banned, do you think that the stomachs of these raving lunatics will be filled ? They will then go after moose & elk. And then, deer. And then rabbits. And then waterfowl. And then upland birds. These people aren't just about getting the hunting of one species banned. They want to get the hunting of all species banned. And through diplomacy and exploiting the ignorance of the public masses (as well as the apathy of other hunters)... they are succeeding one by one.

I dedicated 28 years of my life working in various positions under the Ministry of Forests in my part of the world. It allowed me to closely monitor the activities of several of these anti-hunting crybabies. The same crowds who howled for getting Royal Bengal tiger hunting banned in 1973, also went after deer hunting in 1980 & bird hunting in 1997. They won't stop. They HAVE TO BE STOPPED.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Just the donut hole called Denver (and the cities that make up the Denver/Metro area). Most of the state, land area wise, is actually fairly conservative. Unfortunately, as over half of Colorado's population lives in Denver, the rest of us are subjected to the lunacy coming out of the capital.
We also have one of the easiest processes in the country to put a ballot initiative on the ballot, and even constitutional amendments. Colorado is very often used as a jumping board for groups like this (look at the spread of marijuana legalization, it started here). So this will be appearing in other states if it's successful here; be warned.
The merger of the Colorado Division of Wildlife with Colorado Parks was an intentional move by those that support this kind of stupidity. By doing so, the dollars of the DOW budget that previously were strictly used for wildlife management can be wasted on other "projects" that do not benefit wildlife. Including the waste of money with the wolf introduction. Would have been nice if Utah had not decided to "share" their wolves; we already have several packs that expanded out of Wyoming.
If the wolves spread here like they have to the north and west, these anti-hunters will have succeeded in reducing hunting in Colorado. Look at the impact the wolf has had on Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming big game populations. Currently, Colorado has the largest elk population of any state. We are the only state I believe, that one can buy an over the counter bull tag. The wolf may change that in a relatively short time frame.
This attempt to shut down lion hunting is just one step in the anti's long term plans/goals. As @JimP pointed out, go after a small segment of hunters first, the rest will say "well, that doesn't affect me, I don't lion hunt". The anti's count on that apathy. A hunting ban on any species affects every hunter, whether they realize it or not. Hopefully, hunters wake up and speak up to defeat this when, not if, it appears on the ballot; they can get all the signatures needed in Boulder alone.

No, it was the left wing Oregon DOW that agreed on the transfer of their wolves to Colorado. None of the other states would do it.

 

[fourfive8]

@Woodcarver... "The merger of the Colorado Division of Wildlife with Colorado Parks was an intentional move by those that support this kind of stupidity. By doing so, the dollars of the DOW budget that previously were strictly used for wildlife management can be wasted on other "projects" that do not benefit wildlife. Including the waste of money with the wolf introduction. Would have been nice if Utah had not decided to "share" their wolves; we already have several packs that expanded out of Wyoming."
Yep Exactly!
But I think Oregon was the latest, "enlightened and kind" donor- in the end the origin matters little though

Unless mistaken, Utah went down that combined agency path a few years ago but soon saw the error of their ways, dodged a bullet and reversed course- an informed, wise and lucky decision!

 

[Woodcarver]

No, it was the left wing Oregon DOW that agreed on the transfer of their wolves to Colorado. None of the other states would do it.

Oops, I got it backwards. I knew all the other states had turned CO down, but got UT and OR swapped.

@Woodcarver... "The merger of the Colorado Division of Wildlife with Colorado Parks was an intentional move by those that support this kind of stupidity. By doing so, the dollars of the DOW budget that previously were strictly used for wildlife management can be wasted on other "projects" that do not benefit wildlife. Including the waste of money with the wolf introduction. Would have been nice if Utah had not decided to "share" their wolves; we already have several packs that expanded out of Wyoming."
Yep!
But I think Oregon was the latest, "kind" donor- in the end the origin matters little

Unless mistaken, Utah went down that combined agency path a few years ago but soon saw the error of their ways, dodged a bullet and reversed course- an informed, wise and lucky decision!

Good to hear UT saw the light. I doubt the current Dem controlled legislature and Guv'ner will even think about reversing it. They are enjoying wasting wildlife dollars on non-wildlife efforts.

 

[Nevada Mike]

This ban (on hunting mountain lions) was enacted in California some years ago. Now they seem to be up to their asses in mountain lions, which have never been threatened in California.

These furbearers are regulated, but not protected, in Arizona, and we have plenty of them here. Usually hunted with hounds.

 

[Surgeon1]

This started with prairie dogs on public land, In the next 20 years there will be no hunting in Colorado! I have hunted the world and taking a firearm in and out of Denver International Airport
is a more hostile experience than the vast majority of the airports in the country and even most foreign countries! Most new hires at Colorado Wildlife are anti hunting!

 

[JimP]

This started with prairie dogs on public land, In the next 20 years there will be no hunting in Colorado! I have hunted the world and taking a firearm in and out of Denver International Airport
is a more hostile experience than the vast majority of the airports in the country and even most foreign countries! Most new hires at Colorado Wildlife are anti hunting!

I have flown in and out of Denver's airport and have never had a problem with a firearm, either coming or going. The last time that I flew out was even simpler in that the TSA agent didn't even ask me to open up my rifle case. On the return flight all the oversize baggage came out at the same time just off of the side of regular baggage claim.

 

[DillonG]

I’m guessing this means it’s time to cash in some elk and mule deer points in the very near future then.

 

[Woodcarver]

I’m guessing this means it’s time to cash in some elk and mule deer points in the very near future then.

I'd avoid units in the NW corner for several years. Last year's winter was exceptionally harsh and will take a decade to see real recovery, sad to say.

 

[Phil Giordano]

To me, this is just a pebble in a landslide.
Hopingly not, but the trend of our future is living in a World where everything that is good, right and natural will be banned, and everything is against nature and common sense will be referred to as the model.
It's already this way.
This is the darkest era of our existence as Humans, disguised as the most empathetic and unselfish.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I'd avoid units in the NW corner for several years. Last year's winter was exceptionally harsh and will take a decade to see real recovery, sad to say.

Yes. It took the Bear's Ears herd many decades to build up to the second largest elk herd in the state behind the White River herd. Then in the early 2000s for about five or six years, they gave out WAY too many tags (1200 bull/either sex and 2500 cow) to reduce the herd size at the bequest of the area's ranchers. Over the last ten years, one couldn't draw on a second choice for first season there. And now the brutal winter. Given what my elk hunting group saw (nothing!) this last first and second seasons there, it'll be TWENTY years before the herd is somewhat recovered. For the most part, it'll be just a fall camping trip when elk hunting there.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I’m guessing this means it’s time to cash in some elk and mule deer points in the very near future then.

This started with prairie dogs on public land, In the next 20 years there will be no hunting in Colorado! I have hunted the world and taking a firearm in and out of Denver International Airport
is a more hostile experience than the vast majority of the airports in the country and even most foreign countries! Most new hires at Colorado Wildlife are anti hunting!

Yep. I spent at LEAST 45 minutes at the DIA AA counter in June 2022 trying to get my rifles on the damn plane for a flight to DFW and transfer to Qatar airlines. Both an agent AND her supervisor had NO CLUE! First, they wanted to see the rifle permit. I explained it was in RSA with Rifle Permits and showed them an email and copy of ALL my paperwork. Then, they told me the SAPS needed to be filled out and I showed them the completed copy. Then, they told me Qatar needed notification of the transfer of the firearms to them. I again showed them the completed QATAR paperwork. The agent was on the phone to the Qatar "help" line almost the entire time. Finally, the agent hung up the phone (I guess out of frustration?) and had me weigh my gun case and tagged it, then YELLED Customs and walked away from the counter leaving me standing there. COMPLETE clusterf***!

 

[Woodcarver]

Yes. It took the Bear's Ears herd many decades to build up to the second largest elk herd in the state behind the White River herd. Then in the early 2000s for about five or six years, they gave out WAY too many tags (1200 bull/either sex and 2500 cow) to reduce the herd size at the bequest of the area's ranchers. Over the last ten years, one couldn't draw on a second choice for first season there. And now the brutal winter. Given what my elk hunting group saw (nothing!) this last first and second seasons there, it'll be TWENTY years before the herd is somewhat recovered. For the most part, it'll be just a fall camping trip when elk hunting there.

When the Gunnison Basin was hit hard in winter 2007-8, it hit the deer herd much harder than the elk. It was 2015 or 2016 when I finally found a mature buck in the area I was hunting. Talking to a friend that is still hunting where I was, he said he saw a few good bucks last year, but he wasn't looking for them, no tag. Before 2007, I could be very selective on muleys. The DOW started issuing doe tags a few years ago, but stopped last year; probably won't issue any for a few years now. The elk didn't suffer nearly as much in that region.
This past winter everything suffered in the NW, even the moose. It's going to take awhile for the numbers to return.

 

[JimP]

Yep. I spent at LEAST 45 minutes at the DIA AA counter in June 2022 trying to get my rifles on the damn plane for a flight to DFW and transfer to Qatar airlines. Both an agent AND her supervisor had NO CLUE! First, they wanted to see the rifle permit. I explained it was in RSA with Rifle Permits and showed them an email and copy of ALL my paperwork. Then, they told me the SAPS needed to be filled out and I showed them the completed copy. Then, they told me Qatar needed notification of the transfer of the firearms to them. I again showed them the completed QATAR paperwork. The agent was on the phone to the Qatar "help" line almost the entire time. Finally, the agent hung up the phone (I guess out of frustration?) and had me weigh my gun case and tagged it, then YELLED Customs and walked away from the counter leaving me standing there. COMPLETE clusterf***!

Your problem was the way that the tickets were written.

As I mentioned at the airport, they asked me the same questions and I told them what was going on. I wasn't at the agents counter longer than 10 minutes.

I have no idea of why the tickets were written the way that they were, it was confusing to me and I knew where I was going. But a big problem can be how infrequent some agents see a firearm going overseas, you can almost watch their eyes start spinning around in circles.