Dear Birders: I am usually not very vocal on Cobirds, but I do want to chime in on the SWA restrictions. I live near several SWAs and wrote the State Parks and Wildlife manager an email asking if the SWAs could be opened to birders. I told him that I understand that a portion of the hunting and fishing licenses are their only income, and they need to do upkeep on their properties, so I understand the need to require a hunting or fishing license. I received a very well-written response back from Jason Surface, NE Regional Manager explaining that these areas were set aside specific for hunting and fishing, and they decided that they need to stay true to their original purposes on these properties. He explained that their purpose on these properties is wildlife conservation and it is felt that the wildlife needs a break from human activity in the areas, so they shut down the units for the summer. In addition, they limit the number of people allowed in the units by using a required reservation system, and it is not always safe to have birders in these relatively small hunting units while hunters are there. Remember, as a State agency, the Parks and Wildlife have to respect all uses, in this case hunting and birding, and often limit the use of one to allow the use of another. And that is what is being done here. I think that we are going to have to accept their decision and go where we CAN go. Remember, we can go to national parks, but hunters can not hunt there. So, there are restrictions on all of these activities.
Rick Reeser, Greeley -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CANTEa4a5d3tEqvr%2BMsTyXyUwt1q5CGNxQuSxqYaBrTTRFXbK%2Bg%40mail.gmail.com.
