FILING – 09/28/2007
Basis and Purpose
Chapter 2 - Big Game

BASIS AND PURPOSE STATEMENT

These regulations establish mountain lion harvest limit quotas for the 2007-2008 season.  Harvest limit quotas are established to provide hunting opportunity within harvest and total mortality objectives established in mountain lion data analysis unit (DAU) plans.  The objectives are intended to maintain healthy populations, provide a diversity of hunting opportunities for residents and nonresidents, allow and maintain public recreational opportunity and to minimize or control local game damage situations on private land.  These resulting harvest limit quotas take into account harvest estimates and hunter success rates, wildlife counts and surveys, as well as impacts of winter weather.  As is the case each year, this effort represents the culmination of numerous hours of work by various Division employees involved in the accumulation and analysis of data and time spent with interested publics explaining both the recommendations and the rationale behind them.

Harvest limit quota adjustments approved are within the scope of mountain lion data analysis unit plans.  The harvest limit quota in the combined game management units for DAU L-5 is increased by 1 since harvest has been below the harvest objective for three years and the proportion of females taken in the DAU has declined to about 31% the past two years.  The harvest limit quota is increased by 4 in GMU 59 in L-11 since there has been an increase in game damage conflicts during the hunting season in certain locations in GMU 59, the DAU plan indicates that hunting harvest will be directed to locations where they occur within the DAU.  The harvest limit quota is increased by 2 in GMUs 51, 104 in DAU L-12 since the DAU has a suppression management strategy, harvest and total mortality are well below objective levels, and these units are among the few in this DAU where hunter harvest is comparatively practical given land ownership and management patterns in the entire DAU.  The harvest limit quotas in L-23 and L-24 are reduced by 2 and 4 respectively since harvest and total mortality are well below objective levels the reductions will still allow harvest within objective levels while assuring that if increased harvest does occur it will not over-exploit the available lion population.  Harvest limit quota GMU groups are being split apart in order to better distribute hunter harvest within the L-25 DAU.  Overall the harvest limit quota is increased by 2 within the DAU, in specific areas within the DAU where hunter harvest has been minimal in past years.

The statutory authority for these regulations can be found in § 24-4-103, C.R.S., and the state Wildlife Act, §§ 33-1-101 to 33-6-209, C.R.S., specifically including, but not limited to: §§ 33-1-101, 102, 104, 105, 106-108, 115, and 121; §§ 33-2-104, 105, 106, and 107; § 33-3-104; §§ 33-4-101, 102, 102.5, 103, 116, 116.5, 117, and 119; § 33-5.5-102; and §§ 33-6-107, 109, 112, 113, 113.5, 114, 114.5, 117, 119, 120, 121, 124, 127, 128, 129, 131, 205, 206, 207, and 208. 

EFFECTIVE DATE - THESE REGULATIONS SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2007 AND SHALL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT UNTIL REPEALED, AMENDED OR SUPERSEDED.

APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE WILDLIFE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO THIS 13th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2007.
Approved:
Thomas M. Burke
	Chairman

Attest:
Robert W. Bray
Secretary