Colorado Parks and Wildlife is creating a roster where individuals can sign up for a bison hunting license.<\/p>\n
Interested hunters can apply to be added to the list, which will only be used if management action \u2014 such as preventing property of agricultural damage \u2014 is required for wild bison that enter Colorado. The state is not creating a regular hunting season for bison.<\/p>\n
Colorado is not home to any herds of wild bison after the species was systematically killed across the West in the 1800s.<\/p>\n
However, a new bill signed into law in May allowed the species to be dual-classified as livestock or wildlife. The bill\u2019s primary goal was to protect wild bison from Utah\u2019s Book Cliffs herds that wander into Colorado near Rangely. Prior to the law being enacted, these animals lost any protections when they entered Colorado and were typically killed.<\/p>\n
Now, free-roaming wild bison are managed by Parks and Wildlife as a big game species, meaning they cannot be killed without a proper license or permission. Privately-owned bison will continue to be managed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as livestock.<\/p>\n
Read the full story from our partner at summitdaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n