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Whole new game - State works with landowners to preserve wildlife sites
By CHRIS WOODKA
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
August 31, 2009
A deer or pheasant most likely pays little attention to signs that say: “Private Property
- Keep Out!” or “Now Entering Public Lands.”
That’s why the state Division of Wildlife has opened numerous partnerships with private landowners in the past decade.
“The division strives, when possible, to stretch its dollars as far as possible,” said John Singletary, a Pueblo farmer and member of the Colorado Wildlife Commission. “We want to make everyone’s experience as valuable as possible, and it benefits us as well.”
There are at least a dozen programs that allow wildlife fans - whether they’re armed with cameras and binoculars or bows and guns - access to farms, ranches or even mine sites, said Dave Lovell, assistant regional manager for the Division of Wildlife.
“One of the things the division recognizes is how difficult it is to get permission to hunt on private lands, and we try to ease that difficulty,” Lovell said. “It’s a win-win situation for everyone, because it opens land that was previously not open to the public. It also gives the landowners an incentive to look at wildlife in a different way.”
For some landowners, it also means a new source of income.
For instance, the state issues some permits for big game hunters to landowners who open their spreads to hunters who draw permits to hunt in those areas.
The landowner can sell the permits at a premium to guests - most often from out of state
- for thousands of dollars.
“Those are for trophy animals, and the guests sometimes stay in a lodge,” Michael Trujillo, area wildlife manager, explained.
Some landowners also are paid 25 cents to $3 an acre to allow access for either big game or upland bird hunters.
There are also programs that allow ranchers to be paid for damage to crops from wildlife, conservation easement programs to preserve wildlife habitat and education programs conducted on private lands.
A new program this year established a birding trail in Southeastern Colorado that could bring bird watchers to areas up and down the Arkansas Valley.
“This brings in a lot of income to small communities,” Lovell explained.
Some of the private landowners charge a fee for access, but the trade-off is that birders can go on land that otherwise would be off-limits.
cwoodka@chieftain.com
Following is a list of state Division of Wildlife programs that protect wildlife or open private lands to the public:
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/08/31/news/local/doc4a9b554fab05a923108561.txt
- Keep Out!” or “Now Entering Public Lands.”
That’s why the state Division of Wildlife has opened numerous partnerships with private landowners in the past decade.
“The division strives, when possible, to stretch its dollars as far as possible,” said John Singletary, a Pueblo farmer and member of the Colorado Wildlife Commission. “We want to make everyone’s experience as valuable as possible, and it benefits us as well.”
There are at least a dozen programs that allow wildlife fans - whether they’re armed with cameras and binoculars or bows and guns - access to farms, ranches or even mine sites, said Dave Lovell, assistant regional manager for the Division of Wildlife.
“One of the things the division recognizes is how difficult it is to get permission to hunt on private lands, and we try to ease that difficulty,” Lovell said. “It’s a win-win situation for everyone, because it opens land that was previously not open to the public. It also gives the landowners an incentive to look at wildlife in a different way.”
For some landowners, it also means a new source of income.
For instance, the state issues some permits for big game hunters to landowners who open their spreads to hunters who draw permits to hunt in those areas.
The landowner can sell the permits at a premium to guests - most often from out of state
- for thousands of dollars.
“Those are for trophy animals, and the guests sometimes stay in a lodge,” Michael Trujillo, area wildlife manager, explained.
Some landowners also are paid 25 cents to $3 an acre to allow access for either big game or upland bird hunters.
There are also programs that allow ranchers to be paid for damage to crops from wildlife, conservation easement programs to preserve wildlife habitat and education programs conducted on private lands.
A new program this year established a birding trail in Southeastern Colorado that could bring bird watchers to areas up and down the Arkansas Valley.
“This brings in a lot of income to small communities,” Lovell explained.
Some of the private landowners charge a fee for access, but the trade-off is that birders can go on land that otherwise would be off-limits.
cwoodka@chieftain.com
KEEPING IT WILD
Following is a list of state Division of Wildlife programs that protect wildlife or open private lands to the public:
- Birding Trail and Viewing Guide: 218 sites, including 59 private sites, for bird-watching in Southeastern Colorado.
- Birding festivals: Promotion of seasonal events such as Pueblo’s Eagle Day, Lamar Snow Goose Festival and Monte Vista Crane Festival.
- Education programs: Teaching Environmental Science Naturally gives teachers ideas for wildlife activities, and is entering its 20th year in Pueblo.
- Ranching for wildlife: The division works with ranchers to preserve wildlife and habitat. More than 326,000 acres in Las Animas, Huerfano and Custer counties are enrolled.
- Habitat Partnership Program: The state works with landowners to improve areas by managing the land through ways such as controlled burns, weed control and reseeding. Last year more than $500,000 was spent in the Arkansas and San Luis valleys.
- Walk-in Access: Statewide, more than 300,000 acres of private land were opened to hunters for both big and small game.
- State Trust lands: About 500,000 acres are enrolled annually.
- Habitat Stamps: Conservation easements or recreation easements protect almost 19,000 acres and 2 miles of cold water fishing stream in Southeastern Colorado.
