GRAND JUNCTION — The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the limited hunting license recommendations for deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and black bear, as recommended by CPW staff at last week’s meeting in Grand Junction.
Statewide post-hunt population totals for all those animals except black bear increased in 2014, translating to a nominal (1 percent) license increase of 3,400 for all four species combined, totaling 241,870 limited licenses. Colorado’s bear population remains robust at about 17,000-20,000 but does appear to be declining based on monitoring benchmarks. Reiterating its commitment to continue pressing bear population decreases in most parts of the state, the commission approved a bear license increase of 3,000 licenses over 2014.
Here’s the synopsis by species, according to CPW big game manager Andy Holland and carnivore biologist Jerry Apker:
Deer
Statewide deer populations have increased for the first time since 2005, and demand for deer licenses is strong. In 2014, 169,000 hunters applied for Colorado deer licenses. In 2015, 83,200 deer licenses will be available, about 400 more licenses than 2014. The predicted deer harvest from these license recommendations is 34,000, similar to annual harvests over the past four years.
In herds west of I-25, 69,000 licenses will be available in 2015, an increase of 1 percent. Of these, antlerless rifle licenses will decrease by 6 percent while either-sex rifle licenses increase by 3 percent to 2,900 and antlered rifle licenses increased by 4 percent to 41,150. Archery and muzzleloader licenses each decline by 2 percent.
Buck license restoration continues with another year of modest increase in buck licenses in many DAUs. Antlerless license increases were recommended in herds that are performing well and are at or above population objective ranges.
The statewide post-hunt 2014 deer population estimate is 424,000, compared with 391,000 in 2013. The predicted post-hunt population estimate in 2015 is 437,000, still far below the statewide objective ranges of 500,000-556,000 spanning 55 deer herds.
Most deer herds in the central and northern mountains are performing well, and population sizes and license numbers are increasing. Population estimates went up by 10 percent or more since last year in 17 of our 55 deer herds (31 percent), 11 of which were on the Western Slope. The population estimate for only one Western Slope deer herd (D-41 Logan Mountain) declined by more than 10 percent since last year.
Elk
In 2014, 193,000 hunters applied for 138,200 Colorado limited elk licenses. CPW increased limited elk licenses by 1,300 (1 percent) to 139,500 in 2015. Antlerless and either-sex licenses were reduced again in the southwest region (minus-6 percent for 1,500 total) due to another year of low calf/cow ratios. Licenses were increased in the other three regions.
The predicted 2015 elk harvest is 42,000, nearly identical to last year. The statewide elk population is estimated at 280,000 post-hunt 2014, compared with 264,000 in 2013. The predicted harvest from 2015 license approvals would yield a 2015 post-hunt population predicted at 288,000 elk.
In general, the 2015 statewide licenses for elk are very similar to the total quota issued in 2014 because many herds are near the desired population size.
Pronghorn
The number of limited licenses for 2015 is 18,800, up 10 percent from 17,200 in 2013. The 2014 harvest of 7,500 was significantly lower than the record harvest of 12,300 set in 2010. Harvest has decreased because pronghorn populations are smaller and licenses were greatly reduced since 2011. The estimated statewide post-hunt pronghorn population is 73,000 in 2014, up from 66,000 in 2013. The sum of statewide population objective ranges for hunted pronghorn herds is 67,000-76,000.
Populations have increased primarily in the southeast and northeast regions where favorable moisture conditions have resulted in dramatic increases in reproduction.
The predicted 2015 pronghorn harvest is 8,300 with a predicted 2015 post-hunt population of 74,000.
Moose
Demand for moose licenses continues to greatly exceed allocation, as 20,000 hunters applied for 264 limited licenses last year. For 2015, license numbers will increase by 21 percent to 319.
Moose populations continue to do well throughout the state. The growing number and distribution of moose have resulted in greater hunting opportunity. The estimated statewide post-hunt moose population in herds open to moose hunting is 2,400 in 2015. The current population objective range for all moose herds is 1,700-2,200. The statewide moose harvest was 209 in 2014, compared to 184 in 2013.
Black bear
Up to 22,750 black bear licenses will be issued across the multiple bear seasons this fall, an increase of 3,000 licenses (primarily in September seasons) from 2014. Apker reported that last year nearly 1,400 bears were harvested by hunters and another 600 died due to other types of mortality, mostly control kills in the summer and roadkills from spring through fall. In 2015, the harvest objective is 1,490, and the statewide mortality objective is 2,023.
Scott Willoughby: swilloughby@denverpost.com or twitter.com/swilloughby
