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NOVEMBER I-70 CHECK STATION

NOVEMBER I-70 CHECK STATION NETS 22 CHARGES GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Colorado Parks and Wildlife law enforcement officers checked nearly 180 vehicles and issued 22 citations during a wildlife check station on Interstate 70 in November. It was the first wildlife check station conducted on a major Colorado interstate in nearly 20 years. The two-day operation, held Nov. 7 and 8, diverted all west-bound I-70 traffic into the Colorado Department of Transportation's Port of Entry weigh station in Loma, 18 miles west of Grand Junction. There, wildlife officers conducted hunting and fishing satisfaction surveys, collected DNA samples from harvested big game and conducted compliance checks regarding applicable game laws. About 1,755 vehicles entered the check station. Only vehicles whose passengers had been hunting or fishing were asked to enter the search bays. Other motorists were quickly sent on their way. "We were pleased but not surprised that a vast majority of the hunters and anglers we contacted were in compliance with the law," said Check Station Supervisor and Area Wildlife Manger JT Romatzke. "We remind everyone that responsible hunters and anglers are the first line of defense for Colorado's wildlife resources." Most of the 300 people contacted were in full compliance with state laws and hunting regulations, but 13 hunters were cited for a total of 22 charges for various infractions including illegal possession of wildlife and failing to provide evidence of the sex of their harvest. One driver is being investigated for being in possession of 78 white bass and two walleye. The source of the fish is still under investigation. Officers seized all illegally harvested wildlife. Colorado State Patrol arrested one motorist for driving with a revoked license. All incidents are still under investigation and a total amount of fines has not been determined pending the final disposition of the cases. Personal contact with sportsmen - a primary goal of the check station - provided wildlife managers first-hand opinions about the current hunting season and provided valuable wildlife management information. The vast majority of sportsmen contacted not only reported their overall satisfaction with their Colorado hunting or fishing experiences, but also expressed their support for the check station. "We understand that not everyone will be 100 percent satisfied," said Romatzke. "But we were pleased to hear that the vast majority of our contacts had good, and in some cases, great hunting or fishing experiences in Colorado, and they understood the need for a check station." Approximately 120 officers participated in the 24-hour check station, including 97 from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, eight Colorado State Patrol and two Colorado State Patrol dispatchers, three Mesa County Sheriff's deputies, nine officers from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two Utah Department of Wildlife Resources officers. In addition, CDOT Port of Entry weigh station authorities temporarily closed their facilities to commercial traffic, providing the space required for the large-scale operation. First responders from the Lower Valley Fire Protection District in Fruita were available for any medical emergencies. Small-scale wildlife check stations are conducted throughout the state on smaller roads every year. However, an Interstate check station had not been held in Colorado since 1993 because of the enormous amount of resources and ma npower necessary to staff these large-scale operations. "It was a well-executed operation by all those involved," said Area Wildlife Manager and Check Station Supervisor JT Romatzke. "We planned it for nearly five months, and it paid off, making it likely that we will conduct more of these in the future." To learn more about enforcement of game laws in Colorado, please see: http://wildlife.state.co.us/RulesRegs/LawEnforcement/Pages/LawEnforcement.aspx To report a suspected wildlife violation, call Operation Game Thief at 1-877-265-6648. Callers can remain anonymous.

Hunting is one of the safest outdoor activities!

While hunting incidents often generate news, they only do so because they are so uncommon. Think about all of the really bad looking car wrecks you see – but they rarely make the news. Why? Because they happen all the time.

Hunters in Colorado enjoy millions of hunter recreation days every year, and do so very safely. With only a handful of hunting incidents annually, hunting is about as safe as outdoor recreation gets. The latest from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) shows just how safe hunting really is. Some great information to keep handy when talking about hunting!

Thanks goes to all hunter education instructors – past and present – for the incredible difference they have made through their efforts teaching hunter education. Without you, this would not have been possible!

From the National Shooting Sports Foundation:

Hunting Is Safer Than Golf and Most Other Activities

(Not to Mention Football, Basketball and Soccer)

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: Hunting with firearms is safe; in fact, hunting with firearms is one of the safest recreational activities in America.

With hunting season in full swing across the country, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, has compiled data that shows hunting ranks third in safety when compared to 28 other recreational pursuits, ranging from baseball to wrestling. Hunting with firearms has an injury rate of 0.05 percent, which equates to about 1 injury per 2,000 participants, a safety level bettered only by camping (.01 percent) and billiards (.02 percent). For comparison, golf has an injury rate of 0.16 percent (1 injury per 622 participants), while tackle football topped the list of activities with an injury rate of 5.27 percent (1 injury per 19 participants).

"Many people have the misconception that hunting is unsafe, but the data tells a different story," said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of industry research and analysis. "Comprehensive hunter education classes that emphasize the basic rules of firearm safety and a culture of hunters helping fellow hunters practice safe firearms handling in the field are responsible for this good record."

To put hunting's safety standing into perspective, compared to hunting a person is . . .
• 11 times more likely to be injured playing volleyball
• 19 times more likely to be injured snowboarding
• 25 times more likely to be injured cheerleading or bicycle riding
• 34 times more likely to be injured playing soccer or skateboarding
• 105 more times likely to be injured playing tackle football.

The number of hunters who went afield last year is estimated at 16.3 million. Of tha t total, approximately 8,122 sustained injuries, or 50 per 100,000 participants. The vast majority of hunting accidents--more than 6,600--were tree stand-related. Though recent accurate figures on fatalities related to hunting are not available, statistics from 2002 show 99 fatal hunting accidents.

It's not just in the hunting fields that firearms are being used safely either. The most recent data (2008) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that firearms constitute just 1/2 of 1 percent of all unintentional fatalities in the United States, including those in the home.

The injury data NSSF used to compile this hunter-safety report comes from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the Consumer Products Safety Commission 2010 and the International Hunter Education Association's Hunter Incident Clearinghouse. Activity participation figures are from the National Sporting Goods Association Sports Participation in 2010 report.

See NSSF's full Hunting Injury Fact Sheet.