CPW Commission hi. I wanted to share my OTC elk hunting comments that I plan to share today in the public comment portion of the meeting, just in case my work prevents me from testifying.
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We are here today to discuss how to handle the overcrowding within our OTC elk units caused by nonresident hunters. Colorado’s’ legal and ethical obligation is to the residents of the state, the fix is easy- Alternative 2, limit nonresidents and the problem is solved.
No other state in the nation has a situation where the visitors (nonresidents) take over access to a resident resource, in this case that’s OTC elk hunting. There are more nonresidents than residents in our archery OTC elk hunts. According to the Brandon Diamond CPW report, OTC Resident hunters have declined by over 5000 participants since 2015 (22%). Nonresidents are up 32% since 2015. The nonresident invasion has negatively impacted the residents and Colorado has the most overhunted public lands in the country, that is a statistical fact.
The nonresident invasion is not limited to OTC hunts, why the CPW staff does not publicly disclose these facts is a violation of public trust. A review of the CPW limited elk draw stats (online) shows that since 2015 the following are true: See research here
#1 – Nonresident limited elk applicants have surged by nearly 45,000 (up 55%). Up 9,000 in the past year alone! Resident applicants have increased by just 2000 since 2015 (2%).
#2- Resident (adults) are drawing 17,248 fewer Limited Elk Tags in Colorado since 2015. That’s a loss of 23%.
#3 – Resident Youth in Colorado – are drawing 3,346 fewer limited elk tags! That’s a loss of 37% for our youth.
#4- Magically, however, while residents and resident youth have lost over 20,500 limited elk tags, nonresidents and nonresident Youth are drawing more limited elk tags than in 2015!
How is this possible? It’s possible because we have fake tag caps in Colorado. Our fake tag caps (Soft Caps) steal tag equity from residents and sell our equity for nonresident dollars.
The first step to restoring equity to the resident hunters is to preserve OTC hunting for residents and cap nonresidents by supporting Alternative #2, limit nonresidents, stop the invasion.
****I encourage everyone to listen to Randy Newbergs new Elk Talk podcast (#123) titled “Are Wildlife Trustees Qualified”- It discusses CPW Commissioner Tutchton's comments regarding the public trust, in my March 14 CPW presentation.
No State Treats its Resident Hunters worse than Colorado (statistical fact), read the research on the Colorado Hunting page at www.publicliandjurisdiction.com Join us on Facebook at the Colorado Resident Hunter Association.
Thank you
Brandon Siegfried