Game Damage Assistance for Landowners
The Game Damage Program is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife prevention and reimbursement program that compensates ranchers, farmers and landowners for damage caused by wildlife. The program is through an annual appropriation of hunting and fishing license revenue from the Game Cash Fund.
Species Covered by the Program
To be eligible for the program, the landowner may not not unreasonably restrict hunting of species likely to cause damage on the land under the landowner’s control or restrict the hunting of species likely to cause damage on any other lands by restricting access across lands under the landowner’s control, and who charges not more than five hundred dollars ($500) per person, per season, for big game hunting access on or across the landowner’s property.
Bighorn Sheep
Black Bear
Elk
Moose
Mountain Goat
Mountain Lion
Mule and White-Tailed Deer
Pronghorn
Nuisance Wildlife is not Covered
The State is not liable for damage from nuisance wildlife (starlings, coyotes, pigeons, etc.).
Helping Landowners Prevent Damage
Colorado Parks and Wildlife provides landowners with immediate temporary and/or permanent solutions for the prevention of big game damage and distributes materials to qualified landowners for the protection of their crops or livestock.
Choose Materials
Temporary Materials
Every landowner shall be eligible to receive sufficient and appropriate temporary game damage prevention materials. These materials are made of an adequate substance that are utilized to protect private property for a period of time agreed upon by the landowner and CPW. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, transferable wooden elk panels, apiary protection fencing or pyrotechnics.
Permanent Materials
These materials are made of an adequate substance that are erected in such a way to protect private property for the expected normal life of the materials. The normal life of the materials shall be as specified in a written agreement between the landowner and CPW. All permanent stackyards or fences or panels furnished or constructed by CPW shall be maintained and repaired for their normal life by the landowner unless damaged or destroyed by wildlife.
Fencing
Materials for repairing damages by wildlife to permanent fencing or panels in excess of $100 shall be furnished by CPW and shall remain the property of CPW.
Example Available Fencing Layouts with Requirements
- 16’ x 20’ Baby Stackyard (7’ x 14’ tube gate)
- 40’ x 40’ Stackyard (1 gate)
- 130’ x 48’ 330’A Stackyard (2 gates)
- 130’ x 48’ 330’B Stackyard (4 gates)
- 226’ x 100’ 660’A Stackyard (2 gates)
- 226’ x 100’ 660’B Stackyard (4 gates)
- 218’ x 294’ 990 Stackyard (4 gates)
- Generic Stackyard (detail construction for stackyards/adapted uses)
- Orchard, Nursery, Vineyard, or Commercial Market Garden
- To qualify, orchards, nurseries and commercial market gardens have specific definitions.
Apiary Fencing
Apiary prevention fencing is available to beekeepers in the following options.
Example Apiary Layouts with Requirements (Beeyards)
- 8’ x 8’ electric fence
- Watch CPW’s step-by-step video guide on setting up an 8x8 electric apiary fence.
- 20’ x 20’ electric fence
- 40’ x 40’ electric fence
- Other sizes available for large commercial producers who maintain more than 400 beehives.
Building a Secure Beehive Enclosure brochure
Successful Apiary Fence Operation
Corner Brace for Apiaries
Contact your local CPW office and ask to speak to a District Area Manager (DWM) about apiary fencing requirements.
Requesting Materials
Any landowner who has experienced (or has the potential for) damage to harvested or growing crops, lawful fences, orchards, nurseries, personal property used in the production of raw agricultural products or livestock by big game species may request temporary or permanent prevention materials. The landowner must install the prevention materials as specified for damage purposes only and maintain them for a specified period.
All fencing and material requests start with the local District Wildlife Manager (DWM). Contact a DWM through your local CPW Office to arrange a site visit, and discuss the requirements and obligations and application process.
If CPW offers to provide me with fencing, how long do I have to accept the offer?
If CPW offers, in writing, to furnish fencing to a landowner and the offer is refused or the landowner does not respond within 30 days, CPW shall not be responsible for any subsequent damage until such time as the landowner makes a written request for fencing materials at which time the provision of (#1720.B) shall apply (#1720.C).
Installing Fencing Materials
The landowner has 270 days after receiving the materials to install fencing materials.
If the landowner does not set up the damage prevention materials within a reasonable time period (not to exceed 270
days) after receiving the materials or the materials are not set up to successfully prevent damage, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is not responsible, to prevent the anticipated damage, or if the materials are not erected in such a manner as to reasonably prevent damage, the Division shall not be responsible for any subsequent damage caused by the failure to use such materials. When materials have been provided for temporary game damage prevention or electric fence surrounding apiaries, this time period shall not exceed 15 days from the date of receipt of materials. Damage prevention materials may be delivered by the Division to any person if the request is the result of game damage occurring in any area where it has not normally occurred (#1720.B).
Maintaining Materials
All permanent stackyards or fences or panels furnished or constructed by CPW shall be maintained and repaired for their normal life by the landowner unless damaged or destroyed by wildlife.
Materials for repairing damages by wildlife to permanent fencing or panels in excess of $100 shall be furnished by CPW and shall remain the property of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Damage to Fencing due to Negligence or Improper Use
In the event that damaged prevention materials are destroyed or made unusable through negligence or abuse or they are used for any purposes other than the prevention of game damage Colorado Pars and Wildlife may take one or more of the following actions:
- After written notice to the landowner, CPW may remove the materials from the landowner’s owned or leased land;
- CPW may require payment for any damaged or misused materials or may refuse to issue any additional prevention materials until the landowner has paid for the damaged or misused materials. The amount of payment shall be the cost of new materials of similar construction, reduced by a depreciation factor based on the normal life of these materials;
- CPW may deny all or part of a big game damage claim where proper use and maintenance of damage prevention materials would have prevented or reduced the damage (#1722(C)&(D)).
Reimbursing Landowners for Damage
Types of game damage reimbursement include growing crops, harvested crops, lawful fences, livestock, livestock forage, nurseries, orchards and personal property used in the production of raw agricultural products. Reimbursement for wildlife damages shall be reduced by the amount of claim awarded by an insurance company for the same damages.
Identifying Game Damage
Damage is any change in the quality or quantity of any property which reduces its value. Damage shall include all costs necessary to restore property to its condition immediately prior to damage, to replace it with property of equal value or to compensate for restoration or replacement.
To determine if the damage was caused by eligible big game species, review the following websites:
- Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
- National Wildlife Research Center: Wildlife Damage Management
- Texas Agrilife Extension Services
- Coyote/Sheep Damage Prevention and Control – from the Missouri Department of Conservation
- Coping with Coyotes – from the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension
- Wildlife Damage information
- Produces Guide to Livestock Depredations
Tracks, Tracking and Scat
To determine by tracks or scat if the damage was caused by eligible big game species, review the following websites:
Damage Not Eligible for Reimbursement
- Damage to livestock caused by coyote, bobcats or dogs
- Damage to motor vehicles caused by wildlife
- Injury or the death caused by wildlife
- Damages, if the Division has furnished to the claimant sufficient and appropriate damage prevention materials and the claimant has refused to accept or use such materials exclusively for game damage prevention, and if the provisions of section 33-3-103.5 have been complied with by the Division and the claimant
- Damages, if the claimant has willfully failed to maintain damage prevention materials throughout the normal life of such materials, and such materials have not been damaged or destroyed by wildlife.
Estimating a Value for Damaged Property
To determine a (fair market value) claim amount, review the following websites:
- AMS Market News – Farm commodity market reports from the USDA, covering livestock, poultry, grains including hay, fruits, vegetables and specialty crops.
- Centennial Livestock Auction – Fort Collins, covering cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, horses and hay.
- La Junta Livestock Commission – La Junta, covering cattle.
- Sterling Livestock Commission – Sterling, covering cattle.
- Greeley Producers Livestock Marketing Association – Greeley, covering cattle and hay.
- National Honey Board & National Honey Report
File a Claim
Any landowner* who has experienced (or has the potential for) damage to harvested or growing crops, lawful fences, orchards, nurseries, personal property used in the production of raw agricultural products or livestock by big game species may request reimbursement.
Contact your local CPW office and ask to speak to a District Wildlife Manager (DWM) immediately upon discovery of damage to file a claim. To successfully file a claim, you must complete the required paperwork and meet required deadlines. CPW staff will provide you with the correct paperwork and can answer questions regarding the claim procedures.
Throughout the process, the claimant is responsible for timely notifications, completion of forms, efforts to mitigate the damage and assisting CPW personnel investigating the claim. The claimant must be able to prove the damage was caused by big game and that the value being claimed is reasonable.
The doctrine of avoidable consequences applies to wildlife damage claims, and claimants have a duty to mitigate damages. A claim shall be denied or limited, as is appropriate under the doctrine, where the claimant fails to exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid the loss or to minimize or lessen resulting damage. The burden of proving a failure to mitigate damages shall be on CPW.
Rules, Regulations and Reports
Colorado Statutes
Through Lexis/Nexis reference, Title 33
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Rules and Regulations
Chapter 17: Game Damage
