As used in this title 33, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) Antler point means a projection of an antler that is at least one inch long
and longer than the width of the base of such projection.
(1.3) Backcountry search and rescue means the utilization, training, and
support of responders, with their specialized equipment, coordinated by a sheriff to
provide the services described in this subsection (1.3) during emergencies or
disasters in forests, deserts, mountains, canyons, caves, waters, parks, plains, and,
at times, in more populated areas. Responders include members of volunteer teams
that work alongside fire, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, the
Colorado National Guard, and other government employees in disasters or
emergencies. Backcountry search and rescue is a subset of search and rescue as
defined in section 24-33.5-703 (8) and includes:
(a) Locating lost or injured individuals in remote areas;
(b) Accessing individuals who are injured, stuck, stranded, or entrapped;
(c) Recovering the bodies of deceased individuals at the direction of a
coroner;
(d) Assessing and mitigating hazardous terrain or conditions;
(e) Providing emergency on-scene medical and psychological care;
(f) Evacuating or transporting injured, stuck, stranded, or entrapped
individuals to a roadway or air ambulance;
(g) Providing public outdoor safety education;
(h) Providing for the physical and psychological well-being of first
responders involved in backcountry search and rescue;
(i) Training individuals and teams to provide backcountry search and rescue
services; and
(j) Other related services performed at the will of a sheriff.
(1.5) Bag limit means the maximum amount, expressed in numbers, of
wildlife that may be lawfully taken, caught, killed, or possessed by a person during
one day or other specified period of time.
(2) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective until January 1,
2026. ] Big game means elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, rocky mountain
bighorn sheep, desert bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goat, pronghorn antelope,
black bear, mountain lion, and all species of large mammals that may be introduced
or transplanted into this state for hunting or are classified as big game by the
commission.
(2) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Big game means elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, rocky mountain bighorn
sheep, desert bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goat, pronghorn antelope, black bear,
mountain lion, bison that are wildlife, and all species of large mammals that may be
introduced or transplanted into this state for hunting or are classified as big game
by the commission.
(2.5) Repealed.
(2.6) [ Editor's note: Subsection (2.6) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Bison
means the ungulate classified as the species Bos bison or Bison bison, known as the
American bison.
(3) Carcass means the dead body of any wildlife or a portion thereof.
(4) Carcass tag or tag means that portion of the license or separate
identification which is required by statute or by rule or regulation of the commission
to be attached to a wildlife carcass as evidence of lawful possession.
(4.3) Colorado wildlife officer means an employee of the division of parks
and wildlife, or any other person who is commissioned by the director to enforce the
wildlife statutes and rules of the commission and all laws of the state of Colorado,
who is recognized as a peace officer in section 16-2.5-116, C.R.S.
(4.5) Commercial wildlife park means a privately owned wildlife park,
containing lawfully acquired captive wildlife, on which wildlife are exhibited for
educational, commercial, or promotional purposes.
(5) Commission or parks and wildlife commission means the parks and
wildlife commission created in section 33-9-101.
(6) Commissioner means a member of the parks and wildlife commission.
(6.4) Computer-assisted remote hunting means the use of a computer or
any other device, equipment, or software to remotely control the aiming and
discharge of a weapon, including, but not limited to, firearms or archery equipment,
at wildlife while the person engaged in the action is not physically present with, or
in the immediate vicinity of, the wildlife.
(6.5) Computer-assisted remote hunting facilities means real property and
improvements on the property associated with computer-assisted remote hunting.
Computer-assisted remote hunting facilities also includes, but is not limited to,
hunting blinds, weapons, offices, and rooms, equipped to facilitate computer-assisted remote hunting.
(7) Department means the department of natural resources.
(8) Director means the director of the division of parks and wildlife.
(9) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1629, � 64, effective August 6, 2003.)
(10) Division means the division of parks and wildlife and its employees,
and, when necessary, the term may be construed as referring to the parks and
wildlife commission.
(11) Ecosystem means a system of living organisms and their environment,
each influencing the existence of the other and both necessary for the maintenance
of life.
(12) Endangered species means any species or subspecies of native
wildlife whose prospects for survival or recruitment within this state are in jeopardy
as determined by the commission.
(13) Executive director means the executive director of the department of
natural resources.
(13.5) Exotic aquatic species means those species, subspecies, and hybrids
of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic reptiles, and aquatic amphibians not
originating naturally, either presently or historically, in Colorado and not currently
found in the drainage in question, except those which have been classified as native
wildlife by the commission.
(14) Export means to transport any wildlife, or part of wildlife, out of this
state.
(15) Falconry means the sport of hunting or taking quarry with a trained
raptor.
(16) Fishing means any effort made to take any fish, amphibian, crustacean,
or mollusk.
(17) Repealed.
(18) Game amphibian means those species or subspecies of the class
Amphibia classified as game amphibians by the commission.
(19) Game crustacean means those species or subspecies of the class
Crustacea classified as game crustaceans by the commission.
(20) Game fish means all species of fish which currently exist or may be
introduced or transplanted into this state for sport or profit and which are classified
as game fish by the commission.
(21) Game management unit means a geographic area designated by the
commission for the management of wildlife.
(22) Game mollusk means those species or subspecies of the phylum
Mollusca classified as game mollusks by the commission.
(23) Game wildlife means those wildlife species which may be lawfully
hunted or taken for food, sport, or profit and which are classified as game wildlife
by the commission.
(24) Harass means to unlawfully endanger, worry, impede, annoy, pursue,
disturb, molest, rally, concentrate, harry, chase, drive, herd, or torment wildlife.
(25) Hours means the designated period of the day or night when wildlife
may be hunted or taken lawfully.
(25.5) Hunt means to pursue, attract, stalk, lie in wait for, or attempt to
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or take wildlife. Hunt does not include
stalking, attracting, searching, or lying in wait for wildlife by an unarmed person
solely for the purpose of watching or taking photographs of wildlife.
(26) Import means to bring or introduce into or to attempt to bring or
introduce into this state any native or nonnative or exotic wildlife.
(27) License, with regard to activities governed by articles 1 to 6 of this
title 33, means a permit, stamp, card, certificate, tag, seal, preference point, or
other document provided for by statute or commission rule and issued or required
by the division authorizing the hunting, fishing, trapping, taking, transportation, or
possession of wildlife or other activity for which express authorization is required
by articles 1 to 6 of this title 33.
(27.5) Low-income senior refers to an individual sixty-four years of age or
older who shows proof of such fact to the division or license agent and who meets
the income eligibility requirements established by the commission by rule.
(28) Motor vehicle means a self-propelled vehicle, or a vehicle drawn by a
self-propelled vehicle, by which persons or property may be moved, carried, or
transported from one place to another by land or air.
(28.3) Native plant means a plant species that is indigenous to the state of
Colorado.
(28.5) Native wildlife means those species and subspecies of wildlife which
have originated naturally, either presently or historically, in Colorado; those which
have been introduced into the wild in Colorado by the division; and those which have
been classified as native wildlife by the commission.
(29) Nongame wildlife means all native species and subspecies of wildlife
which are not classified as game wildlife by rule or regulation of the commission.
(29.5) Nonnative wildlife or exotic wildlife means those species,
subspecies, and hybrids of wildlife not originating naturally, either presently or
historically, in Colorado, except those which have been introduced into the wild in
Colorado by the division or classified as native wildlife by the commission.
(30) Nonresident means any person who is not a resident of this state.
(31) Optimum carrying capacity means that point at which a given habitat
can support healthy populations of wildlife species, having regard to the total
ecosystem, without diminishing the ability of the habitat to continue that function.
(32) Peace officer means a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, police
officer, Colorado state patrol officer, or town marshal; a district attorney, assistant
district attorney, deputy district attorney, or special deputy district attorney; an
authorized investigator of a district attorney; an agent of the Colorado bureau of
investigation; a Colorado wildlife officer or special wildlife officer; or a parks and
recreation officer.
(33) Person means any individual, association, partnership, or public or
private corporation, any municipal corporation, county, city, city and county, or
other political subdivision of the state, or any other public or private organization of
any character.
(34) Possession means either actual or constructive possession of or any
control over the object referred to.
(35) Possession limit means the maximum amount, expressed in numbers,
of wildlife which may be lawfully possessed by any one person at any particular
time.
(36) Public road means the traveled portion and the shoulders on each side
of any road maintained for public travel by a county, city, or city and county, the
state, or the United States government and includes all structures within the limits
of the right-of-way of any such road.
(37) Raptor means all birds that are members of the order of
Falconiformes or Strigiformes and, specifically, but not by way of limitation, means
falcons, hawks, owls, and eagles or such other birds classified as raptors by the
commission.
(37.5) Rare plants means native plants that are at risk of extinction or
elimination across the entirety of their distribution due to restricted range, few
populations or occurrences, steep declines, or severe threats.
(38) (a) Resident means any person who has lived in this state for six
consecutive months or more immediately preceding the date of application for or
purchase of any license required under the provisions of articles 1 to 6 of this title
or rules or regulations of the commission.
(b) The burden of establishing residence shall be on the person claiming
such status at the time of application for a license. No person is entitled to claim
multiple states of residence except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this
subsection (38). The following evidence or any other reliable evidence may be used
in establishing, but is not necessarily determinative of, residence:
(I) The residence of a person is the principal or primary home or place of
abode of a person. A principal or primary home or place of abode is that home or
place in which a person's habitation is fixed and to which the person, whenever
absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure or absence
therefrom, regardless of the duration of such absence. A residence is a permanent
building or part of a building and may include a house, condominium, apartment,
room in a house, or mobile home. No rental property, vacant lot, vacant house or
cabin, or premises used solely for business shall be considered a residence.
(II) In determining the principal or primary place of abode, the following
circumstances relating to the person may be taken into account: Business pursuits,
place of employment, income sources, residence for income or other tax purposes,
age, marital status, residence of parents, spouse, and children, if any, leaseholds,
situs of personal and real property, existence of any other residences outside of
Colorado and the amount of time spent at each such residence, and any motor
vehicle or vessel registration.
(II.3) The residence address given for purposes of purchasing or obtaining
licenses issued under this title shall be the same as the address given for Colorado
state income tax purposes.
(II.6) A person shall not be considered to have gained resident status while
retaining a domicile outside this state.
(III) In determining whether the principal or primary place of abode is in
Colorado, the following documents may be taken into account: A current driver's
license with address, recent property tax receipts, copies of recent resident income
tax returns, current voter registration cards, current motor vehicle or vessel
registrations, and other public records evidencing place of abode or employment.
(c) A person who is a resident of this state does not terminate residency
upon entering the armed services of the United States. A member of the armed
services on active duty who resided in Colorado at the time the person entered
military service and the person's dependents are presumed to retain their status as
residents of Colorado throughout the member's active duty in the service,
regardless of where stationed or for how long or of the factors listed in paragraph
(e) of this subsection (38), unless the member changes his or her home of record to
some state other than Colorado or fails to comply with the requirements
established by article 22 of title 39, C.R.S., and rules promulgated by the
department of revenue concerning the filing of a Colorado income tax return.
(d) For the purposes of this subsection (38), the following shall also be
deemed residents of this state:
(I) Members of the armed services of the United States or any nation allied
with the United States who are on active duty in this state under permanent orders
and their dependents;
(II) Personnel in the diplomatic service of any nation recognized by the
United States who are assigned to duty in this state and their dependents;
(III) Full-time students who are enrolled in and have been attending any
accredited trade school, college, or university in this state for at least six months
immediately prior to the date of application for any license. For the purposes of this
subparagraph (III), the spouse and dependent children of any such student shall
also be considered residents. The temporary absence of such student or the
student's spouse or dependent children from this state while the student is still
enrolled at any such trade school, college, or university shall not be deemed to
terminate their residency. A student shall be deemed full-time if considered full-time under the rules or policy of the educational institution he or she is attending.
(IV) Colorado residents who attend school full-time out of state and pay
nonresident tuition unless exempted from such tuition payments by the trade
school, college, or university.
(d.5) The residency status of children under eighteen years of age is
presumed to be that of the parent with whom the child resides the majority of the
time pursuant to court order or legal guardian.
(e) Except as provided in paragraph (c), (d), or (d.5) of this subsection (38), a
person is deemed, for the purposes of this title, to have terminated his or her
Colorado residence if the person applies for, purchases, or accepts a resident
hunting, fishing, or trapping license issued by another state or foreign country;
registers to vote in another state or foreign country; or accepts a driver's license
that shows an address other than in Colorado.
(f) If a person moves to any other state or foreign country with the intention
of making it the person's permanent residence, the person shall be considered to
have lost his or her residence in Colorado.
(39) Season means the period of time during which wildlife may be legally
hunted or taken.
(40) Sell includes bartering, exchanging, trading, or giving or offering a
gift and each such transaction made by any person whether as principal proprietor,
agent, servant, or employee with or without remuneration.
(41) Small game means: Game birds, including grouse, ptarmigan,
pheasant, quail, partridge, wild turkey, wild ducks, wild geese, sora and Virginia
rails, coot, sandhill cranes, snipe, mergansers, band-tailed pigeons, doves, and
crow; game mammals, including cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, fox squirrel, pine
squirrel, Abert's squirrel, jackrabbits, marmot, and prairie dogs; and all species of
small mammals and birds that may be introduced or transplanted into this state for
hunting or are classified as small game by the commission.
(42) State wildlife area means all lands and waters held by the division that
are designated by the commission for the benefit of wildlife populations or for
wildlife-related recreation.
(43) Take means to kill or otherwise acquire possession of wildlife; except
that the term does not include the accidental wounding or killing of wildlife by a
motor vehicle, vessel, or train.
(44) Threatened species means any species or subspecies of wildlife
which, as determined by the commission, is not in immediate jeopardy of extinction
but is vulnerable because it exists in such small numbers or is so extremely
restricted throughout all or a significant portion of its range that it may become
endangered.
(45) Transfer means to pass, deliver, convey, receive, or hand over any
license issued under articles 1 to 6 of this title from one person to another or to
intentionally allow such a license to come into the possession of a person other
than the person for whom it was originally procured.
(46) Transport means to ship, carry, convey, or transfer from one place to
another and includes an offer to transport and the receipt or possession for
transportation.
(47) Trap means any mechanical device, snare, deadfall, pit, or other device
used for catching wildlife.
(48) Trapping means taking or attempting to take wildlife by the use of a
trap.
(49) Vessel means every description of watercraft used or capable of
being used as a means of transportation of persons or property on water.
(50) Waters of the state means any natural streams, reservoirs, and lakes
within the territorial limits of the state of Colorado.
(51) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (51) is effective until January 1,
2026. ] Wildlife means wild vertebrates, mollusks, and crustaceans, whether alive
or dead, including any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, that exist as a
species in a natural wild state in their place of origin, presently or historically,
except those species determined to be domestic animals by rule or regulation by
the commission and the state agricultural commission. Such determination within
this statute shall not affect other statutes or court decisions determining injury to
persons or damage to property which depend on the classification of animals by
such statute or court decision as wild or domestic animals.
(51) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (51) is effective January 1,
2026. ]
(a) Wildlife means wild vertebrates, mollusks, and crustaceans, whether alive or
dead, including any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, that exist as a species
in a natural wild state in their place of origin, presently or historically, except those
species determined to be domestic animals by rule of the commission and the state
agricultural commission. Such determination within this statute shall not affect
other statutes or court decisions determining injury to persons or damage to
property that depend on the classification of animals by such statute or court
decision as wild or domestic animals.
(b) Wildlife does not include:
(I) Privately owned cattle, including privately owned bison, bison legally
reduced to captivity, or bison that have escaped lawful captivity; or
(II) Bison owned by or lawfully reduced to captivity by an Indian tribe.
(52) Wildlife sanctuary means a place of refuge where a nonprofit entity,
as defined in section 7-90-102 (40), C.R.S., provides care for abused, neglected,
unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced wildlife for their lifetime
and, with respect to any wildlife owned by such entity, does not:
(a) Use the animal for any type of entertainment;
(b) Sell, trade, or barter the animal or the animal's body parts, except as
authorized by rule promulgated by the commission; or
(c) Breed the animal.