CO Open Space hunting proposal

[Oak]

This probably belongs in SI, but many can't read it there. Following is an e-mail I received, along with the attached story. The likelihood of this plan coming to fruition is slim, but it definately won't happen if hunters don't comment. As the message says, you can guarantee the opponents will be commenting.
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Here’s an item for all those that reside in Boulder County, or that have family or friends that do. I think it would be highly valuable for resident sportsmen/woman to get in touch with their commissioners and other county folks and add your support of this idea. I can guarantee that activists will be voicing their opposition loud and clear, and in the past, they have gotten their way only because they were the only voice heard.

Having hunting allowed on Boulder County Open Space (literally thousands of acres of land ranging from ag fields to mountain properties) will not only allow for a much needed management tool to be put back on the ground, but also open up a tremendous hunting opportunity. Boulder residents NEED to chime in on this topic, or forever hold their peace.

Chris

----- Original Message -----

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 10:35 AM

Subject: [members] More killing on Boulder County Open Space?



After a long battle, we were finally successful a year ago in convincing the Colorado Division of Wildlife to stop killing healthy deer on Boulder County Open Space because of the perceived threat (fear) of chronic wasting disease . Now Wildlife Commissioner Rick Enstrom wants to start killing animals again on Open Space. This idea needs to be STOPPED before it gathers any speed. They are again attempting to use fear as their method - the fear of mountain lions. Never mind the fact that some may fear their guns.
Please read the Boulder Daily Camera article below, then contact the Boulder County Commissioners and the Parks and Open Space Advisory Board and respectfully tell them your thoughts. Citizens pay for open space in order to prevent development, have access to hiking and for pristine wildlife areas where animals are protected - not for gun-toting individuals to fill their lust for blood and the thrill of the hunt.
I can only wonder if this is another means to combat the statistics that tell us the numbers of hunters nationwide are dwindling?
Contact info for County Commissioners and Open Space is: [email protected] and [email protected]
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DOW: Give hunting a shot

Agency says hunting on county open space would aid management

By John Aguilar (Contact)
Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The Colorado Division of Wildlife this week will propose allowing big game hunting on Boulder County open space — essentially banned since the county acquired its first parcel of land more than 30 years ago —as one of the ways to reduce encounters between people and mountain lions.

Division officials will broach the subject at a meeting Wednesday with open space officials from Boulder and several other Front Range counties.

"I can imagine there are people who this discussion will make uncomfortable, but we need to arrive at an understanding of how to manage big game wildlife," said Rick Enstrom, an eight-year member of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, who calls Boulder County a hot spot for wildlife encounters.

Enstrom said if current policies prevail — in which open space property is largely set aside as an undisturbed

wildlife sanctuary — brushes between humans and cougars will become more frequent and perhaps more deadly.

This year saw dozens of mountain lion sightings and encounters in Boulder County, including an attack on a 7-year-old boy near Flagstaff Mountain in April.

"There's going to be a situation in the next few years where a mountain lion is going to take another human being," Enstrom said.

Ron Stewart, director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space, isn't convinced that the county's wild areas are overrun by deer, elk or cougars. And he contends that many of the parcels under his department's control, such as Heil Valley Ranch, Hall Ranch and Betasso Preserve, are too remote for mountain lions to pose an immediate danger to residents.

While Stewart is open to hearing what the DOW has to say at Wednesday's meeting, he said the county needs to be clear on what its open space mission is.

"This is a place that very much wants to protect wildlife and protect wildlife habitat," he said. "They might suggest some things that Boulder County could find acceptable and other things that we don't."

Enstrom said the DOW will formally offer its management proposals to county officials after it completes an urban mountain lion study scheduled for next year.

Until hunting is included as a potential wildlife management tool — either directly by hunting the big cats or by culling the number of deer and elk upon which they feast — Enstrom said the DOW will be forced to operate with its hands tied behind its back, simply responding to events rather than trying to prevent them.

"We have all of the responsibility and none of the authority to manage wildlife," he said of the DOW. "Managing it on a case-by-case basis is disaster management and not a responsible way to do it."

Dave Hoerath, a wildlife specialist with Boulder County Parks and Open Space, said he understands the DOW's frustration and is trying to work with the agency. He said his department teamed up with the division a few years ago, when it removed deer from county land to combat chronic wasting disease.

Additionally, Hoerath said his department plans to continue allowing grouse and turkey hunting on three rugged parcels near Eldorado Canyon — known as the BLM-South Boulder Creek properties — that it just acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. He said Boulder County Open Space may even try to open up some of its east county parcels to hunting in an effort to keep the goose population in check.

But when it comes to allowing hunters to shoot deer, elk, bear and mountain lions on some of the county's most pristine mountainous open space terrain, Hoerath said that won't happen without a fight.

Or without approval from the county commissioners, who won't meet with the DOW on the issue until next sometime next month.

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Thanks for caring,

Rita

Freedom, peace and love for all beings!

Rita L. Anderson
Committee for Research Accountability,
a Project of In Defense of Animals
Boulder, Colorado
Phone - 303-527-3372 or 303-618-3227 (cell)


"When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall - think of it, always. -- Even if I am a minority of one, truth is till the truth."
Ghandi

 

[Bambistew]

Thanks Oak!

Has the DOW set up a contact to recieve comments? If so who? If not???

 

[Oak]

It's always a good idea to send comments to the wildlife commission. [email protected]

I think in this instance, comments to the county commissioners (listed above) would be more helpful. Highlight reasons they should consider your point of view ($$$!), since you're not their constituent. Safety is going to be one of the concerns, so that would be another point to consider mentioning.

 

[Ithaca 37]

I sent an email to the County Commissioners. I signed it, but included no address. Maybe they'll think I live in Boulder. Here's all it takes to comment: "Please allow the CO Div. of Wildlife to use hunting as one of their management options on Boulder County open space." You can add as much as you see fit.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Gotta love it. Even a Ghandi quote... didn't do the Mahatma much good -he still caught a burning slug -fired by some lunatic Hindu. There's an antihunting "Rita" with a big mouth and bleeding heart everywhere you look. "Freedom, peace and love for all BEINGS"= means wildlife especially. It's heartwarming to see 1930s National Socialist philosophy is still running amuck, inticing everyone with visions of a perfect world. Open Space is supposed to be shared by everyone -I guess hunters aren't considered "BEINGS." Gad... makes my flesh crawl to share the planet with such delusional losers like "The Committee of Research Accountability -A Project In Defence Of Animals"-How Dramatic!! If I lived in Colorado, I'd be all over this thing.

 

[Bambistew]

Thanks Oak, I'll send a few letters off today.

Got to say though, the guys on MM won't have any monster deer to take pictures of if they open it up though.