friday ❖ june 7, 2013
fast-pitch softball returns to craig, see page 11
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Vol. 113, No. 17
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Senate Bill 252 heats up Moffat County By ANDIE TESSLER daily press writer
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The draw for big game hunting licenses concluded in Colorado recently, with a 4 percent increase in people seeking tags over 2012. Parks and Wildlife officials and area hunting outfitters hope that is a good sign for the state remaining a popular destination for hunters across the country.
Hunting uncertainty
Yampa Valley still in demand, but local outfitters concerned about future By NATE WAGGENSPACK daily press writer
CRAIG — With big game hunting draws completed, Colorado and Moffat County got a good sign for the 2013 hunting season despite concerns about the new firearm legislation that’s slated to take effect July 1. After Colorado House Bills 13-1224 and 13-1229 were signed into law earlier this year, there was concern about the potential hit to hunting when many outof-state hunters said they would boycott Colorado if the gun laws passed. While there still are several steps to go in the license sales and distribution process, the
limited big game draw showed a 4 percent increase in demand for Colorado in 2013 compared to 2012. For elk — one of the major draws to hunting in Colorado and the Northwestern part of the state specifically — demand also was up from 2012. According to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2013 elk draw summary, more than 197,000 people put in for elk licenses in Colorado, compared to 191,000 last year. Of the 103,000 people who drew licenses, 28,452 were not residents of Colorado, a figure up by just more than 400 from 2012. In every game management unit
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in Moffat County (GMUs 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 01, 211 and 301), the demand for cow elk licenses was equal to or higher than last year, according to the summary. Mule deer demand also was up this year. To Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that is a good sign to meet their goal of managing herds, although several factors, such as sales of leftover licenses, remain to be seen. The laws “really won’t affect hunting, and hunting regulations have not changed,” said Mike Porras, public information officer for CPW’s Northwest Region. “I don’t know if there’s any way of
saying that right now we think this has affected us one way or another. During the application and draw process, we saw the 4-percent increase, and that’s a positive sign. We still need to see over-the-counter licenses and sales.” Chris Jurney, owner of Chris Jurney Outfitting, in Craig, thinks the over-the-counter sales is where Colorado could see some trouble, even beginning this year. “Some of the limited draws, you have a higher potential for trophy animals, so a boycott won’t necessarily show up in a
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craig — If anger were a renewable energy source, Moffat County might already meet the conditions of the highly controversial Senate Bill 252, which set renewable energy standards for rural Colorado. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill into law Wednesday. Sponsored by Democrat Senate President John Morse and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, the bill requires rural electric co-ops throughout the state to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. That represents a 100-percent increase compared to the previously required 10 percent. SB 252 has been widely panned in Moffat County, and many people feel betrayed and forgotten by lawmakers who they feel did not consider any input from rural stakeholders in their decision. “The co-ops were not consulted on the executive order and the advisory committee,” said Lee Boughey, senior manager of corporate communications and public affairs at Tri-State Generation and Transmission, in a statement. “The legislature’s failure to engage cooperatives and its rushed process resulted in a bill that was significantly flawed.” Detractors point to the advisory board created for the director of the Colorado Energy Office that Gov. Hickenlooper created alongside the bill to measure the bill’s effectiveness. According to the governor, the bill was far from perfect and some concerns were not given
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