Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s annual big game brochure has been hitting hunters’ mailboxes — the annual reminder to start planning for the seasons ahead.

The brochure is also available at CPW offices and posted online. And the agency is urging hunters to view it ahead of the primary draw application period, running March 1-April 1.

Hunters must purchase a 2025 qualifying license to participate in big-game draws; most qualifying licenses are available starting in March. Fees pertaining to Colorado residents, nonresidents and licenses for various game are outlined in the new brochure, which outlines several changes starting this year.

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At the top of a highlighted “what’s new” section: Nonresidents can no longer buy over-the-counter archery elk licenses for hunting grounds west of Interstate 25 and Game Management Unit 140 in southern Colorado.

CPW marked the change “to help manage hunting pressure and to improve hunting quality during the archery season.” The CPW Commission previously considered similar restrictions for Coloradans, a proposal that was met by opposition.

The nonresident restriction was among changes approved for CPW’s next five-year management cycle, from 2025 through 2029. Another notable change: some deer hunts will open during first rifle season, a time typically reserved for elk hunting.

The idea is to spread out hunters, an area wildlife manager based in Gunnison, Brandon Diamond, explained in a CPW publication last year. “The second and third seasons are incredibly busy, and we hear a lot about it from hunters,” he said.

That publication also explained shorter breaks between seasons — “which results in seasons not going as late into the year and overlapping with Thanksgiving,” CPW Senior Wildlife Biologist Jamin Grigg said in that publication.

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“We heard from hunters that seasons were too late in some geographic areas and people had issues with the Thanksgiving overlap,” he added. “Some folks liked that, but the majority of input was that season dates were too late and there was more interest in season dates not going quite so late.”

The first rifle season’s five days will start the first Wednesday after Oct. 8, followed by a five-day break. The nine-day second rifle season will be followed by another five-day break. The nine-day third season will be followed by a two-day break before the fourth season spanning five days. Hunters will have two weekends to hunt the second and third seasons.

The 2025 big-game brochure details those new deer hunts for the first rifle season. There are also more late-season rifle antlerless moose hunts, among other additions and modifications to certain parts of the state.

In the northwest part of the state, CPW continues to limit and restrict big-game hunting. The agency reports herds still recovering from an extreme winter in 2023.

Another restriction applies to coyotes across the state. No longer can hunters with an unfilled big-game license take coyotes. That’s “in an effort to improve coyote harvest estimates,” according to a news release.

The release points to resources aimed at helping hunters spot the difference between a coyote and Colorado’s newest wild resident.

“Wolves have been released both north and south of I-70, and we expect them to explore their new environment and travel widely,” the release reminds. “Wolves can be present no matter where you may be hunting in Colorado.”

The gray wolf is protected under the Endangered Species Act and state law. Killing one can come with criminal fines up to $100,000 and a year in prison.