A bull elk makes a bugle-like sound to potential mates during the animal’s mating season in a high meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Recently elk have expanded onto much of the Northwest Colorado range formerly occupied only by deer and pronghorn, and now the area is home to the largest elk herd in North America. (Associated Press file photo)
By Tim Brass
Guest Commentary
Hunting and fishing in northwest Colorado is a tradition that goes back generations to pioneering trappers and fur-bearers. Mule deer and sage-grouse were once much more abundant than they are now, and were hunted in greater numbers. More recently, elk have expanded onto much of the range formerly occupied only by deer and pronghorn, and now the area is home to the largest elk herd in North America.
Sportsmen from all over the state and country spend millions of dollars a year on hotels, gas, guide services, equipment, food and the like in Rio Blanco, Moffat and Garfield counties. Without healthy and harvestable populations of game, we could see our long-held traditions deteriorate.
There are ways to keep our outdoor traditions and hunting and fishing economy intact while responsibly developing the energy resources of Piceance Creek and other nearby Bureau of Land Management lands. This includes adequate
pre-planning through master energy leasing plans, as well as identifying and protecting areas of high-quality, undeveloped fish and wildlife habitat.
A coalition of local and national hunters and anglers ranging from outdoor businesses to bowhunters to former wildlife managers is rallying around the idea of balanced and responsible management, including setting aside important BLM lands for hunting, fishing, and wildlife. These areas should maintain the traditional uses of
the land including grazing, wildlife management projects and recreation.
These “backcountry conservation areas,” as they’re being called, keep access open and rights intact on public lands while keeping areas open that are relied on year after year by sportsmen. Given the intense and year-round development proposed in the White River Field Office’s oil and gas amendment, a balanced approach should include maintaining our outdoor economy and way of life.
Timothy Brass is the Southern Rockies coordinator for the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.