Effective April 6, 2020: Colorado Parks and Wildlife has delayed the opening of the spring Turkey season in Yuma County until May 2nd.
At approximately 10 am on April 6th, 2020 via Conference call Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission held an Emergency Regulation Hearing to discuss the closure of Turkey hunting in Yuma, Colorado. The Yuma County Commissioners have requested that the CPW Commission impose a turkey hunting season closure in their county based on concerns about COVID-19.
Yuma County is currently the only county in Colorado that has postponed Turkey season due to COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to reduce the travel of other infected areas from their county. Governor Polis issued a stay at home order and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s public health order say that as long as social distancing is adhered to then hunting and fishing are appropriate activities for the citizens of Colorado to engage in. It seems like the Commissioners are unduly contradicting the orders that were previously put into place. And that they are the only county engaging in this type of closure is definitely something to wonder about.
The local turkey hunters are left wondering what social distancing really means in this rural area if they can’t go out and hunt in their own county. For a lot of these hunters that means they can’t even hunt on their own private farms and ranches. If hunting doesn’t meet those social distancing standards I guess I don’t know what does.
We as hunters are obviously concerned about the welfare of the citizens of Colorado and will do everything in our power to decrease the likelihood of spreading the virus. But when things of this nature begin to occur it makes us wonder if there aren’t hidden agendas that are being pursued behind closed doors. This is the thing that scares law-abiding citizens and hunters when looking at the future of their rights and priveledges.
Is it ok that our hunting privileges are being removed so easily?
