Colorado closes shed collection on all public land west of I-25 from Jan 1 through Apr 30 every year to protect wintering big game; it's open May 1 through Dec 31. There is no closure on private land or anywhere east of I-25. In the Gunnison Basin (GMUs 54, 55, 66, 67, and 551), collection is also banned nightly from sunset to 10 a.m. during May 1–15 for Gunnison sage-grouse. No license, permit, or course is required for residents or nonresidents. Violations run $137 plus 5 license-suspension points — and each antler counts as a separate offense.
LAST CHECKED August 29, 2026 · RULES CHANGE — CONFIRM WITH COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE (CPW) BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT.
Set by: Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulation
Set by: Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulation (Gunnison sage-grouse protection)
No pending rule changes found as of the last check.
CPW's own statewide totals, seasons 2020-2024. Deer includes white-tailed deer. The 2022 deer report contains no All-Manners table, so that season is absent. Per-unit sums were checked against each Total row at parse time.
CWD has been documented in free-ranging deer or elk in 63 counties as of May 2026. Captive-cervid detections are also on record in 17 counties.
Adams · Arapahoe · Archuleta · Baca · Bent · Boulder · Chaffee · Cheyenne · Clear Creek · Conejos · Costilla · Crowley · Custer · Delta · Denver · Dolores · Douglas · Eagle · El Paso · Elbert · Fremont · Garfield · Gilpin · Grand · Gunnison · Hinsdale · Huerfano · Jackson · Jefferson · Kiowa · Kit Carson · La Plata · Lake · Larimer · Las Animas · Lincoln · Logan · Mesa · Mineral · Moffat · Montezuma · Montrose · Morgan · Otero · Ouray · Park · Phillips · Pitkin · Prowers · Pueblo · Rio Blanco · Rio Grande · Routt · Saguache · San Juan · San Miguel · Sedgwick · Segwick · Summit · Teller · Washington · Weld · Yuma
SOURCE: USGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE HEALTH CENTER — CWD DISTRIBUTION BY STATE AND COUNTY, VER. 4.0 (AUG 2026).
2 elk · 5 mule deer — migration corridors, stopovers, and winter ranges mapped from GPS-collared animals and published by the USGS Corridor Mapping Team with the state agency.
SOURCE: USGS — UNGULATE MIGRATIONS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, VOLS. 1–6
Every state reports these numbers to the federal government on the same terms, so they compare cleanly across states. A license holder is a person — one hunter can buy several licenses or tags in a season.
SOURCE: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE — HUNTING LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS. FEDERAL DATA RUNS TWO YEARS BEHIND; 2024 IS THE MOST RECENT SALES YEAR PUBLISHED.