CPW Beaver Conservation & Management Scoping Period

[TOGIE]

I don't get the warm fuzzies on where this could ultimately be headed. I'd encourage folks to comment.

Beaver Conservation and Management Strategy

CPW is developing a Beaver (Castor canadensis) Conservation and Management Strategy. The public scoping period is now open through August 31, 2025. Please provide feedback through the comment form on this page. A recorded presentation with more information is available

engagecpw.org

 

[Bluffgruff]

I beat the crap out "wildlife in Colorado need advocacy, habitat, and value, and hunting and trapping provide that plus excellent tabel fare and beautiful hides to help educate the non-hunting public on their value without forcing anything on them." Tailored for the front-range leftist vegetarian. I also clicked that I'm representing the rewilding movement. I also mentioned how forcing wolves on the west slope ruined good will between the communities there and both CPW and the state government and it would be wise to avoid future similar unilateral action.

 

[Bow Bullet]

The Governor should be on our side. He and his husband don't like beavers.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Submitted comments. Also pointed out that this is a completely fabricated emergency contrived by a small number of activists seeking to eliminate beaver trapping or any lethal take. No issues with beaver management under current CPW stewardship.

Intesting how they separated this from the fur bearer working group. Divide and conquer is the strategy with the anti-hunting-trapping crowd.

 

[TOGIE]

Submitted comments. Also pointed out that this is a completely fabricated emergency contrived by a small number of activists seeking to eliminate beaver trapping or any lethal take. No issues with beaver management under current CPW stewardship.

Intesting how they separated this from the fur bearer working group. Divide and conquer is the strategy with the anti-hunting-trapping crowd.

hunting and trapping aside, i also see this as the beginnings of a process to side step landowner concerns and issues with beavers in the attempt to further elevate "keystone" species and their "restoration" for the supposed greater benefit of the ecosystem. to my knowledge, beavers are fine, the goals here seem to be an attempt to fix a problem that doesn't exist, except in the minds of current "rewilding" advocates.

alluded to by bluffgruff, a process that i assume looks to force this presence further on the landscape and hamper landowners abilities to deal with them and issues that may be caused to their property.

the "techniques for coexistence" bullet point is a very loaded one that carries more baggage now than ever after the shitstorm that is wolf reintro.

beavers sit at the nexus of legal headbutting between water rights administrators and river restoration advocates as well. i don't see any good coming from this as far as that is concerned.

 

[COEngineer]

Forgive me if I said it too many times already, but this "Strategy" and associated focus groups are being paid for with hunters' license dollars. CPW hired a consultant firm for $250,000, plus all the staff time, etc. Get your money's worth and leave some pro-hunting/trapping comments (as always, be courteous). Point out that beaver populations in CO have grown while under CPW's management, including hunting and trapping as management tools. BluffGruff's comments about, "wildlife in Colorado need advocacy, habitat, and value, and hunting and trapping provide that plus excellent table fare and beautiful hides" are spot on.

 

[COHunter20]

Added some pro-hunting/trapping comments, also reinforcing the idea that the management seems to be fine as is and we may be creating a problem that doesn't exist. The harvest data that was presented and beaver pond interactive map is so minimal in detail, you can’t even begin to evaluate population trends anyways. Thanks for posting this!

 

[TOGIE]

certainly one of my comments was that better population and harvest data should be a primary, even preliminary, goal in restoration efforts. seems silly to go all buck wild on restoration with pretty high level population estimates and really spotty harvest data.

in short, i'm all for increasing beaver numbers and increasing watersheds with beavers, but in no way shape or form does restoration mean that harvest has to go away. and keep the heavy hand pocketed when dealing with landowners; we don't need to be further inhibiting their ability to deal with wildlife that can be destructive to their operations.

 

[JohnCushman]

Are the beavers going to be shaved?

 

[Dave N]

Are the beavers going to be shaved?

Just the small ones.

 

[TOGIE]

Are the beavers going to be shaved?

 

[tormenter]

Sent in my comments. Togie I think you are right about the private property concerns.

Thanks for posting the information and link.