Colorado DOW to Draft Regulation Prohibiting Bear Den Hunting

Post date: Jan 11, 2011 4:19:50 PM

Outdoornews.com

Posted: Saturday, January 8, 2011 8:03 am

DENVER, CO – The Colorado Wildlife Commission has directed the state Division of Wildlife (DOW) to draft a regulation that would prohibit the hunting of bears in their dens.

Commissioners were asked to consider adopting a regulation following an incident this fall in which a hunter near Craig said he tracked a large black bear to a cave, entered the cave and killed the bear. Colorado hunting regulations currently do not prohibit hunting a bear in a den.

Regulations manager Brett Ackerman told the Commission Wednesday that den-hunting is apparently not common among bear hunters. However, he said the Division monitors issues which Colorado citizens may find do not meet public expectations of fair chase and this incident has provoked significant negative public feedback. Ackerman said numerous other states have banned den-hunting on the grounds that it does not meet public expectations of fair chase.

Commission Chairman Tim Glenn said the Commission considers regulations regarding hunting ethics on a case-by-case basis.

"This is a perfect example of the kind of issue that the Wildlife Commission needs to look at," Glenn said. "We talked about the importance of fair chase for maintaining public trust in what we do. That is absolutely critical, so for what it's worth, I certainly think we do need to address this issue."

Several commissioners wondered if the issue could be addressed by closing bear hunting seasons earlier, before bears would be expected to enter hibernation. But others noted that weather, elevation and geography all factor in to the timing of bear denning, which varies across the state. As a result, the Commission directed staff to draft a regulation specifically aimed at prohibiting den-hunting.

Division staff will present a draft regulation for consideration by the Wildlife Commission at its March meeting in Denver. Commissioners could approve it in May.

The Colorado Wildlife Commission is an 11-member board appointed by the governor. The Wildlife Commission sets Division of Wildlife regulations and policies for hunting, fishing, watchable wildlife, nongame, threatened and endangered species. The Commission also oversees Division of Wildlife land purchases and property regulations.