CPW Commission requires a valid hunting or fishing license to access all State Wildlife Areas (Response from CPW)
Adrian Lakin (adrianlakin1@gmail.com)
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I understand you are inquiring about birding on state lands.
Your Colorado State Parks pass is valid for Colorado State Park which offer great birding opportunities. However, the Parks and Wildlife Commission approved a regulation change to protect the integrity of these properties for their intended use—the perpetuation and conservation of wildlife and wildlife recreation—regulation #900.C.1 has been added to require all persons 18 years of age or older hold a valid hunting or fishing license to access any SWA. Similarly, regulation #902.B.5 was added prohibiting access to STLs leased by the Division to all persons 18 years of age and older who do not hold a valid hunting or fishing license. Additionally, property-specific regulations were modified accordingly, including removing the annual access permit requirement for Jumbo Reservoir SWA (901.B.119(a)), Lake Deweese SWA (901.B.130(a)), Prewitt Reservoir SWA (901.B.173(a)), and San Luis Lakes SWA (901.B.203(a)). State wildlife properties can be found in our 2019 Recreation Lands brochure. This new regulation will start July 1, 2020.
We currently have an SWA permit for specific properties that already require a hunting or fishing license. However, with the new regulations for wildlife properties, we will no longer be offering an SWA permit for wildlife properties and a hunting or fishing license will be required to access all state wildlife areas and state trust lands. The SWA permit was not recognized under the Federal-Aid Program as a valid hunting or fishing license. The current SWA Access Permit system, used on only four SWAs, negatively impacted the CPW wildlife finances. The monies generated from this access permit fund lessens the following year’s Federal Aid monies used by CPW by the amount the access permit fund accumulated.
In order to create a new birding stamp or license, CPW would need to submit a bill to the legislator to amend that state statute regarding valid licenses.
Respectfully,
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Bradley Gabrielski
Communication Center Wildlife Coordinator
Hunt Plan: 303.291.7526|Main: 303.297.1192|Fax: 303.866.5070
1313 Sherman St., 6th Fl, Denver, CO 80203
Bradley.G...@state.co.us I www.cpw.state.co.us
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On Wed, May 13, 2020 at 3:18 PM cpwinfo, DNR_wildlife <DNR_wildli...@state.co.us> wrote:
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Forwarded message ---------
From: <no-r...@state.co.us>
Date: Wed, May 6, 2020 at 8:52 AM
Subject: CPW FAQ Question Submitted from Website
To: <wildlife...@state.co.us>
The following question has been submitted through the CPW FAQ Ask A Question page.
I just heard about this new requirement that will be in effect July 1 and I am concerned about this cost for us folks who use (very respectfully) the SWA's and CPW-leased lands for birding. This seems a very excessive response to try to discourage a few troublemakers while hurting a whole lot of people who by nature are respectful of wildlife and the environment. Would it be possible to issue a "Birding Stamp" or something similar that DOESN'T cost us an additional $45 per year like the Fishing License and Habitat Stamp would? I already pay $80 per year for my Colorado State Parks pass, so this additional cost would really hurt. Thanks, Adrian Lakin Mead, CO
Debbie Tyber
All,Below is the response I received from CPW regarding the new SWA hunting/fishing license requirement. I guess the only "good" thing to be gleaned from the response is that they no longer require the extra $47 annual fee for access to Jumbo Reservoir SWA, Lake Deweese SWA, Prewitt Reservoir SWA, and San Luis Lakes SWA, but you will need the fishing license instead that covers all SWA's and STL's.I will respond back to Bradley asking about the process to get a bill to the legislature for a Birding Stamp/License.Thanks,Adrian Lakin, Mead, COReply from CPW and my original question to them...
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I understand you are inquiring about birding on state lands.
Your Colorado State Parks pass is valid for Colorado State Park which offer great birding opportunities. However, the Parks and Wildlife Commission approved a regulation change to protect the integrity of these properties for their intended use—the perpetuation and conservation of wildlife and wildlife recreation—regulation #900.C.1 has been added to require all persons 18 years of age or older hold a valid hunting or fishing license to access any SWA. Similarly, regulation #902.B.5 was added prohibiting access to STLs leased by the Division to all persons 18 years of age and older who do not hold a valid hunting or fishing license. Additionally, property-specific regulations were modified accordingly, including removing the annual access permit requirement for Jumbo Reservoir SWA (901.B.119(a)), Lake Deweese SWA (901.B.130(a)), Prewitt Reservoir SWA (901.B.173(a)), and San Luis Lakes SWA (901.B.203(a)). State wildlife properties can be found in our 2019 Recreation Lands brochure. This new regulation will start July 1, 2020.
We currently have an SWA permit for specific properties that already require a hunting or fishing license. However, with the new regulations for wildlife properties, we will no longer be offering an SWA permit for wildlife properties and a hunting or fishing license will be required to access all state wildlife areas and state trust lands. The SWA permit was not recognized under the Federal-Aid Program as a valid hunting or fishing license. The current SWA Access Permit system, used on only four SWAs, negatively impacted the CPW wildlife finances. The monies generated from this access permit fund lessens the following year’s Federal Aid monies used by CPW by the amount the access permit fund accumulated.
In order to create a new birding stamp or license, CPW would need to submit a bill to the legislator to amend that state statute regarding valid licenses.
Respectfully,
--
Bradley Gabrielski
Communication Center Wildlife Coordinator
Hunt Plan: 303.291.7526|Main: 303.297.1192|Fax: 303.866.5070
1313 Sherman St., 6th Fl, Denver, CO 80203
Steven E Larson
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Rachel Kolokoff Hopper
| Senior Low Income Lifetime Fishing (65+) Colorado residents only | $9.85 |
Susan Rosine
I'll probably have to wait until I'm 65. It's pretty pricey otherwise. I already buy the annual state park pass, and I made the mistake of buying the RMNP annual pass. It didn't seem like a mistake at the time, of course.
Susan Rosine
Brighton