CPW Seeks Public Input on Plan to Manage far Southeast Colorado Pronghorn Herd

LAMAR, Colo. – Public input is being sought by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) about how it proposes to manage the Two Buttes pronghorn herd in far southeastern Colorado over the next decade.

Big game populations are managed t​o achieve population and sex ratio objectives established for various herds.

CPW staff spent months drafting a management plan for pronghorn in the Two Buttes pronghorn herd, which covers Game Management Units (GMUs) 132, 139 and 145 in Prowers and Baca counties.

The draft plan, now available online, reflects CPW’s efforts to balance the biological capabilities of the herd and its habitat with the public’s demand for wildlife recreational opportunities.

The final plan will guide CPW officials as they decide how many pronghorn should exist in each GMU and the entire herd management region. The plan will also help CPW decide the proper ratio of males to females over the next decade.

Population goals and sex-ratio objectives drive important decisions including:

• ​How many animals must be harvested to maintain or move toward the objectives.
• What types of hunting seasons are required to achieve the harvest objective.

To develop the draft plan, CPW staff conducted various pronghorn population surveys, a landowner survey and a hunter survey.

Based on the results of those surveys, CPW is recommending that the population objectives be set to the level of the current estimated population of 1,000 pronghorn.

If you are interested in reviewing the draft Two Buttes plan, it can be found at: https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/HerdManagementPlans.aspx

Public comment on the draft must be received by CPW no later than May 21. To submit a comment, please follow the instructions on the website.

Comments will be used to further develop the draft plan that will be presented to Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife Commission for approval.