By Jason Clay
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is providing options for hunters impacted by Tuesday’s announcement from the US Forest Service regarding closures in Boulder, Gilpin and Clear Creek counties. With the announcement of these new closures, hunters with tags in Game Management Units (GMUs) 29, 38 and 39 will be affected.
In response to that announcement, CPW is reaching out directly to hunters with second season rifle licenses in those units. CPW staff will lay out options for hunters and explain how to get a refund on their tag. That direct communication will come via email to the address the customer has entered on their account with CPW.
“We are working closely with the Forest Service and will continue to monitor the situation and prepare for potential impacts to other seasons,” said Kristin Cannon, CPW’s Northeast Deputy Region Manager. “These are unprecedented times and we ask that hunters do their part to observe emergency closures and other restrictions.”
You can download the press release from the Forest Service announcing the new closures, here.
“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing on our Forests this year is historic,” said Forest Supervisor Monte Williams. “These temporary closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that the risk of new fire starts has decreased.I ask all of our local residents and visitors to take these closures and evacuations seriously to allow our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing the existing fires.”
The Canyon Lakes Ranger District, encompassing approximately 650,000 acres mostly in Larimer County, has already been closed due to the Cameron Peak Fire. It was announced Tuesday by the Forest Service that it is closing its Boulder and Clear Creek Ranger Districts given the extreme fire danger and the CalWood and Lefthand Canyon fires sparking up within the last week.
The Boulder Ranger District encompasses over one hundred thousand acres of the Front Range in western Boulder and northern Gilpin counties. The Clear Creek Ranger District manages approximately 200,000 acres in different counties (Clear Creek, Gilpin along with small portions of Jefferson) along the I-70 corridor.
Licenses in GMUs 6, 7, 9, 19 and 20 along with S1 and S40 have already been given refund options due to the Cameron Peak Fire.
Please visit our website by clicking here for the latest information on wildfire refund options.
Meanwhile, much of the rest of the western half state is under Stage II fire restrictions, but public lands are still open at this point. It is important that hunters are aware of any restrictions before going out into the field. Stage II fire restrictions mean that no campfires or warming fires are allowed. Violations of fire restrictions can lead to federal and local charges. Law enforcement agencies are taking a zero-tolerance policy and will be citing anyone who violates fire rules.