Effective July 1, 2005 dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s) are prohibited at three Colorado State Wildlife Areas (SWAs) in southeast Colorado. Among the largest and most popular is John Martin Reservoir SWA in Bent County. The other two are Granada SWA in Prowers County and Queens SWA in Kiowa County.
In addition to the ATV ban, regulations require that cars, trucks, campers, motor homes and street-legal motorcycles must remain on designated roadways at John Martin and Granada.
“The primary purpose of State Wildlife Areas is to set aside land for wildlife habitat and for wildlife related recreation including hunting and fishing,” said Travis Black, the area manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW).
“Unfortunately, some people view these properties as places where they can race around on ATV’s blazing new trails and tearing up vegetation. It takes years for the land to recover from the damage they cause,” said Black.
John Martin Reservoir is surrounded by land managed by multiple governmental agencies. The lands located around the northeast portion of the reservoir, including the Lake Hasty Campground located below the dam, are managed by the Colorado Division of Parks and Recreation.
Most of the lands located on the south shore and the northwest portion of the reservoir are managed by the DOW. The dam itself is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The ATV ban only applies to portions of the shore around John Martin Reservoir and Granada SWA that are managed by the DOW.
Anyone who violates the ATV ban or drives a vehicle off developed roadways on John Martin or Granada State Wildlife Areas is subject to fines and the potential loss of hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
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BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ELUSIVE RIVER OTTERS
Wildlife observers can help track the progress of the state's river otters by reporting sightings on-line at the Web site of the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW). Since being re-introduced to the state in the mid 1970s, the otters have steadily expanded their range. They are now found in most of the major river basins throughout the western portion of the state. Biologists, however, have no reliable way to estimate the river otter population because the animals are very elusive, trap shy, and cannot be fitted with external radio collars. Therefore any information regarding sightings by the public is helpful, explained Pamela Schnurr, a DOW species conservations specialist based in Grand Junction. This summer a formal research project is being conducted to gain a better understanding of how the river otters are doing throughout western Colorado. Researchers are setting special traps designed to snag fur. Through DNA testing scientists can develop better methods for estimating numbers of river otters in Colorado. The research will continue throughout the summer. When the DOW receives reports of sightings it helps to direct the work of more detailed survey efforts, Schnurr explained. Colorado's river otter population is making a comeback about a century after the native species was extirpated from the state. Before they were reintroduced to the state in the 1970s, the last confirmed sighting was made by a trapper in the early 1900s in the lower canyon of the Yampa River below Craig. As part of efforts to return river otters to Colorado, wildlife biologists released about 115 of the mammals at five separate sites around the state between 1976 and 1991. Recovery sites include Cheeseman Reservoir on the South Platte River southwest of Denver, the Gunnison, Piedra, and Dolores rivers in southwest Colorado, and streams in Rocky Mountain National Park. In addition, Utah released 67 river otters into the Green River near the Utah-Colorado border, and otters from that release have made their way into Colorado in both the Green and Yampa rivers.Schnurr said the otters appear to be expanding their range substantially from the original release sites, hunting year-round for crayfish, channel catfish, suckers and other prey along major rivers. Otters are listed as a state threatened species and cannot be trapped or killed. The on-line reporting system enables citizens who believe they have spotted a river otter in the wild to fill out an online form that asks for specific information, including the location of the sighting, physical descriptions, and animal behavior. The online form also includes photos of river otters and animals commonly mistaken for them. Wildlife observers who submit forms at the DOW Web site will also be asked whether they snapped photos of the animals they spotted in the wild.Adept swimmers and aquatic hunters, otters are long, slender members of the weasel family, ranging from 3 to 4 ½ feet in length. Their powerful, cylindrical tails, which thicken at the base, comprise about one-third of the animals' body length. Otters' webbed toes and water-resistant fur enable them to spend a lot of time in water. While they are prized by wildlife observers for their playful water gliding, they can easily be mistaken for other similar species such as beavers, muskrats and mink. To access the DOW River Otter Observation Form Web Page, go to:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/species_cons/otter/otterForm.htmFor more information about Colorado's river otters, visit:http://wildlife.state.co.us/education/mammalsguide/river_otter.asp or http://wildlife.state.co.us/species_cons/wildlifeindanger/otter.pdfFor more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us/.
