Colorado Bear Hunters

[Mr.pacojack]

Colorado bear hunters. The DOW is putting on a meeting tonight at the American Legion Post 62. 1055 Moffat county Road 7 in Craig Colorado 6:00pm-9:00pm. They are looking for input on how to manage the bear. Houndsman and Bear Baiters, here is your chance to give them your input.

[FullCryHounds]

Thanks for the info, I hope a lot of houndsmen show up. My first suggestion would be to get rid of the rediculous requirement to have a deer or elk tag in your pocket to go hunt bears. How that can be legal for them to have that requirement on you when you have no intention to shoot a deer or elk is beyond me.

[oswald]

hope they come down south. would really like to DEBATE with jerry apker face to face.

[Mr.pacojack]

One Houndsman showed up to the meeting.

[Mr.pacojack]

Thanks for the info, I hope a lot of houndsmen show up. .

This is how they lost the bear hunting in the first place. NO ONE SHOWED UP. And they sit and cry and cry that they can't run their hounds on bear.
DOW said they have put these on through out the state and no one has really shown up.

[Bplott]

not supriseing you know what the fight utah has had YET everbody bitches but nobody shows up....i could buy a brand new truck paid for in cash if i had all the money and time off pais for all the meeting i have been to!!! I dont understand why houndsmen wont stand up for the spot they enjoy!!!!

[Mr.pacojack]

I know you would think that any chance they had to make their sport better they would be lined up fighting to get in and get heard. But it is easier to sit and cry on here about how they can't hunt than it is to take an hour out of their busy schedual. If they are that Freaking busy, When will they find time to hunt Bear in the first place????????

[Brady Davis]

I was at one with another houndsman up here in Loveland. We were the only 2 hunters there...not hound hunters but hunters...period. It was sad to see.

But look at the bright side, there were about 20 people who were against bear hunting. Looks like mam bear and papa bear will live to make another baby bear....

Overall it was also a useless meeting. They were there do develope a mgmt plan, NOT take input on methods of take...at all. It would have been nice to talk more though. Got to speak quite a bit with the guy who is drafting the final plan.

[Bplott]

yUPN the old timers are tired of caring and the young guys flat dont care...so its up to us that do care!!!!!

[Brady Davis]

yUPN the old timers are tired of caring and the young guys flat dont care...so its up to us that do care!!!!!

Judgin by what I saw at the bear meeting in Loveland...we lose.

[Neff]

I am not from Colorado but from Utah and we have the same problem. If we do not stick together and be heard we are going to loose our right to hunt with hounds. We need to get off the computer and go to the meetings and voice the same opinions that we place on this website. It is much the same other than in person, we can do it.

[reed]

Why is it that no one wants to go to these meetings and voice opinions? I wasn't at the Loveland one but I sent an email with some thoughts. I took the management plan to mean all aspects of managent. I didn't give numbers that should or should not be taken, but I did give some other information that included manner of take and habitat. I also gave some ideas on how to handle problem bears as well as trying to prevent bears from becoming problems. Management, to me, is not just about hunting but everything that entails a healthy huntable population.

The one thing that I have come to realize is it doesn't matter if anyone is right or wrong but who is the loudest. The squeekiest wheel is always the first one to be oiled. This is especially true when it comes to government politics. If I have a pothole in front of my house and call about it once a week it will get fixed long before the street that has twenty potholes and no one is complaining about it.

I would agree with Brady that if more people don't speak up now then bear hunting is possibly on the way out the door. Right now is a great time to be trying to win our rights back. Public opinion can be swayed more easily than before due to publicity from the human/bear incounters over the summer in Aspen.

It is not the antihunters you have to persuade it is the citizens that own land in these areas that will help us. If one person was to stand up at these meetings and help local home/cabin owners know that your way is a viable way, i.e. hound hunting of bears, it would be a big step. No you can't go out there and say hound hunting is the only way, you have to pressent it as a better way with sound arguements.

[Brady Davis]

I agree Reed and the letter you wrote I thought was very well written. When they stood up at the meeting the FIRST thing they said is they were not taking any input on manner of take...Really all they wanted to know is should they increase or decrease the # of tags.

I voiced my opinion that I felt it was unfounded to require a hunter to have a deer/elk tag in the unit to hunt bear. A bear huntershould be able to buy a bear tag. I don't have to buy a waterfowl stamp to hunt lions....Makes no sense.

I think the possibility of a bear season in CO with hounds is well over. I hope I'm wrong. In the meantime, I'll continue to attend meetings.

[Mr.pacojack]

I think the possibility of a bear season in CO with hounds is well over. I hope I'm wrong. In the meantime, I'll continue to attend meetings.

You bet it is. The reason you lost it was because bear hunters didn't stand up for their rights and that is the same reason you will never, ever see it again in Colorado. And soon it will be your lion and Bobcat

[cat and bear]

Fellows, your heart is in the right place. To sum it up, you need organization, first of all. Then you need votes, membership, and then money, for the polititions or anyone to take notice. I and alot of other folks fought the fight to keep our WI bear season, as about 12 years ago, they tried to get it on a state vote, We had buss loads, women, children, trappers, all sportsman at the anti meetings, also in madison. My grandfather donated a piece of land, we got a lot of donations or material at cost, well, septic, logs etc. The end result, a lot of hard work, we built and raffled the cabin, for about 280k. We went from 1100 members, to 3400. Now we had votes, and money. We got rid of a few dead beats on the bear hunters board, and put a write in president to take the challenge of the bear hunters future. Everyone took notice, including the anti's, their lies, and tricks, miss perceptions, was all put down, one at a time. With great leadership, family's spending their time, selling tickets, getting memberships, etc. We all done our part in one form or another. We have a great bear season, and have actually gained area to hunt, and length of our harvest season. It can be done, and if it isnt for bear, you guys better pull together, as devin said, your cats will be next. Good luck.