Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) just released its preliminary alternatives and staff recommendations for the 2025-2029 Big Game Season Structure (BGSS). CPW has developed these recommendations over the past year. 

CPW will present their preliminary alternatives and staff recommendations to the Parks and Wildlife Commission at the Commission meeting in Denver on March 6 and 7. This March meeting will be held at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Hunter Education Classroom at 6060 Broadway in Denver beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 6 and is scheduled to adjourn shortly before noon on Friday, March 7. A complete agenda can be found online at

http://wildlife.state.co.us/SiteCollectionDocuments/DOW/Commission/2014/Jan/AGENDA.pdf.

The CPW staff is planning a three-step approval process, with the Commission making final decisions on season structure in June. 

If you are interested in providing a comment on the BGSS preliminary alternatives and staff recommendations, you can either:

1) submit a written comment to the Commission inbox ([email protected]) to ensure your comments are included in the record and provided to the Commission or,

2) sign up to provide a verbal comment at the upcoming March Commission meeting. 

Below is a summary of the 2025-2029 BGSS Staff Recommendations:

• Change to the previous season structure (2015-2019) for regular deer and elk rifle seasons.
• Maintain the status quo for season structure for early seasons (archery and muzzleloader) for deer and elk west of I-25 and GMU 140; in addition, there shall be an additional stand-alone limited archery antlered deer season that opens August 15th and closes September 1st, annually. This season would be optional and determined on a herd-by-herd basis (DAU/GMU), allowing for regional flexibility. This optional antlered deer season would not replace existing antlered, either-sex, and antlerless deer archery seasons.
• Over-the-counter (OTC) archery: Limit all resident and nonresident archery licenses – limited licenses to be available through the draw by management area (Data Analysis Unit (DAU) or Game Management Unit (GMU)). 
• OTC rifle: Maintain the status quo; keep unlimited licenses available for antlered elk during the second and third general rifle seasons in OTC units. Keep limited either-sex or limited antlered elk licenses available in remaining limited units. All antlerless elk licenses remain limited. Limited licenses issued by GMU/DAU.
• Addition of an optional* rifle deer hunt during the first regular rifle season (currently elk only). 
• Addition of an optional* second regular rifle buck and doe pronghorn season.
• A change to the BGSS cycle length was considered. CPW recommends maintaining the status quo of conducting a review of the BGSS every five years.
• Administrative topics (cow moose): Optional late cow moose season that would be  additional to the regular moose rifle season, and would be valid for all regular rifle deer and elk seasons (with no hunting during the breaks between seasons) when necessary to meet management objectives for moose.
• Administrative topics (private-land-only (PLO) black bear): Modify the existing language to clarify that PLO rifle bear licenses are not required to be unlimited OTC for every population/DAU (managers could still choose an unlimited PLO OTC strategy).

*Optional: CPW staff would have the option to utilize this season as a tool to meet biological objectives (established in Herd Management Plans) and/or social management objectives; would be determined on a herd-by-herd basis (DAUs).