CO Elk Depradation Tags ???

[Trigger50]

What's the scoop on these elk depradation tags in CO? When I 1st learned @ them...I was very excited. WI has a similiar program for deer & landowners can give the tags to hunters & you can hunt anterless deer for free.
The research that Ive done @ these elk tags, tempered my initial excitement. The reports that I heard said that landowners keep most of the tags for themselves & since most ranchers are not as busy in the winter, they hunt the tags themselves. And of course, these are still wild elk...once u harass them alittle, they leave or go nocturnal.
Is there any real chance an OYO hunter could get these tags & have a good chance of success?

 

[putm2sleep]

No, no real chance, imo - I believe it to be a scam like McDonalds Monoply winnners.
Yes, success should be expected.

 

[Mudranger1]

No, no real chance, imo - I believe it to be a scam like McDonalds Monoply winnners.
Yes, success should be expected.

Do what?

 

[spook12]

Yes,No,Sorta,Never, Absolutely,Kinda,Maybe,Without a doubt,No way in hell.

 

[noharleyyet]

I haz confused.


http://wildlife.state.co.us/Research/Mammal/Elk/Pages/Elk.aspx

Finding solutions for reducing Elk and Deer damage to high-value agricultural resources
Led by Heather Johnson, Matt Hammond, Patt Dorsey, Chad Bishop, Kurt VerCauteren (USDA National Wildlife Research Center) and Justin Fischer (USDA National Wildlife Research Center)

Elk and mule deer provide important recreational, ecological, and economic benefits, but they can also cause substantial damage to agricultural resources in rural environments. This situation has generated significant challenges for wildlife agencies that are responsible for maintaining viable ungulate populations while also minimizing crop damage. One of the most significant areas of ungulate damage in Colorado has been the sunflower fields around Dove Creek. In this region, roughly a quarter of million dollars were annually paid to farmers between 2007 and 2009, and kill permits, distribution hunts and private-land-only doe hunts have been routinely distributed to farmers. Pressure from local growers over damage, and frustration from the general public over kill permits, generated the need for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to evaluate other management options for reducing elk and deer crop depredation. As a result, CPW has partnered with wildlife damage researchers from the National Wildlife Research Center to find science-based solutions for reducing crop damage. Collaboratively, our goals are to 1) examine elk and mule deer distribution patterns to design public hunting opportunities to reduce crop damage, 2) experimentally test a suite of non-lethal techniques to minimize crop depredation, and 3) map and model landscape characteristics associated with damage to specify more effective site-specific management practices. Results from this study should ultimately enable CPW and local growers to reduce ungulate crop depredation, leading to a decrease in compensation payments and kill permits/distribution hunts, and an increase in public hunting opportunities and support from farmers and sportsmen. (updated 5/2012

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[Oak]

I have killed a few elk with depredation tags. They way it always worked when I did it was that the landowner is given a certain amount of vouchers for tags, that they may distribute however they wish. Since depredation tags are "List C" tags, a single person can hold as many as they want to purchase (or as many as are available).

It's not really hunting most of the time. You go out at first light to where the damage is occurring (haystack, winter wheat field, etc) and shoot a cow before they all leave for the day. Landowners control the issuance of the tags, so you usually need to know someone. Sometimes you can contact the local DWM (game warden) and they will tell you if anyone currently has depredation vouchers. The landowners like it to be simple, and they usually don't want to mess with killing the elk themselves. I have been given multiple vouchers in the past and just shot the elk and distributed them to needy families in town. Haven't done it in many years, though.