Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) seeks public input regarding pronghorn management. Specifically, the proposed draft management plans affect the Two Buttes, Laramie River Valley and Cherokee Park pronghorn herds. The proposals will shape pronghorn management over the next decade. Comparatively, the plans reflect big game population management standard procedures. Key points revolve around achieving population and sex ratio benchmarks necessary for several herds.
About The Herds
- Two Buttes Herd
- Far southeast Colorado
- Game Management Units (GMUs) 132, 139 and 145 in Prowers and Baca counties
- Email your comments to:
- Jonathan Reitz / jonathan.reitz@state.co.us
- Comments due by May 21
- The Two Buttes pronghorn management plan is publicly available for download and review.
- Laramie River Valley Herd
- North-Central Colorado
- GMUs 7 and 8 in Larimer County
- Email your comments to:
- Angelique Curtis / angelique.curtis@state.co.us
- Comments due by May 8, 2020
- The Laramie River Valley pronghorn management plan is publicly available for download and review.
- Cherokee Park Herd
- North-Central Colorado
- GMUs 9 and 191 in Larimer County
- Email your comments to:
- Angelique Curtis / angelique.curtis@state.co.us
- Comments due by May 8, 2020
- The Cherokee Park pronghorn management plan is publicly available for download and review.
Details
- Comments aid to continue management plan development.
- After public input, the plans are subject to CPW Commission approval.
Pronghorn Management Planning
CPW staff diligently committed months to draft the management plans. Moreover, the draft plans reflect CPW’s efforts to balance the biological capabilities of the herd and their habitat with the public’s demand for quality hunting opportunities.
The final plans, after public input, will guide CPW decision-making. According to the carrying capacity of the landscape, they will decide how many pronghorn can exist in each GMU as well as the entire herd management region. Additionally, the plans will also help CPW decide the ideal male to female ration over the next decade. Ideally, these population goals and sex-ratio objectives drive important decisions.
“Population goals and sex-ratio objectives drive important decisions including:
• How many animals must be harvested to maintain or move toward the objectives.
• What types of hunting seasons are required to achieve the harvest objective.
To develop the draft plan, CPW staff conducted various pronghorn population surveys, a landowner survey and a hunter survey.
Based on the results of those surveys, CPW is recommending that the population objectives be set to the level of the current estimated population of 1,000 pronghorn.”
– CPW News Release
