Colorado trespassing law and getting permission ??

borrowed time

New member
Now, in Colorado, if you're caught trespassing on private property hunting or fishing you can be HEAVILY fined, Imprisoned, loose your license AND loose your gear!

My question is, can you be considered a trespasser if there are No Trespassing signs at the entrance to the property and you drive up to the house to ask permission to hunt?

Thank you!
 
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Colorado law it is the hunters responsibility to know if your on public of private. Signage does not matter. [beeep] there does not have to be anything. No fence nothing. I hunt several areas where there is private and unless you have a good map or a gps with a chip you would never know the property lines.

Land owners have no responsibility to post or mark. It is on you!
 


My question is, can you be considered a trespasser if there are No Trespassing signs at the entrance to the property and you drive up to the house to ask permission to hunt?

Thank you![/quote]

I do it all the time! Never had a problem yet but then again i just started hunting private in Colorado.

One ranch i went to was down the main road about 1/2 mile, when i pulled up the owner was standing in the driveway waiting for me, he had driveway monitors on the trees as you drive in!

Pretty clever man too say the least, he said NO!
 
So, I called our CO DOW and they said that I had to call a LAWYER..... They didnt know the answer. I have had all but one positive interaction with Game Wardens (had one "Super-Cop" a-hole out of many good ones) but I have found the office people to be operating on the "I dont really give a crap" or "I'm just here to warm a seat" career path.
 
Call a lawyer and get a different interpretation from each one. It's why laws are so confusing. It says it all when you call the authorities and they say call a lawyer. It's amazing what goes on in government. Yet they constantly complain they are short on resources.
 
Originally Posted By: borrowed timeSo, I called our CO DOW and they said that I had to call a LAWYER..... They didnt know the answer. I have had all but one positive interaction with Game Wardens (had one "Super-Cop" a-hole out of many good ones) but I have found the office people to be operating on the "I dont really give a crap" or "I'm just here to warm a seat" career path.


I went to the Colorado DOW office to check on night hunting & use of Night Vision equipment.

Out of the 5 officers - 3 legal & 2 not legal??

They don't know their own laws!
 
yeah, worthless over there.

Last year I was at a State Wildlife Area to hunt with my son. Some complete A-hole rotten scumbag "hunters" shot a few deer there the previous season.

they had thrown the remaining skeletons and pieces of hide in the stream and all over the camping area.

I was absolutely LIVID!

following Monday I went to the DOW office on Broadway told them what happened and asked for written permission to clean up the mess and dispose of the remians so that non-hunters and other people that may be anti-hunting wouldn't have something they could use against hunters.

They said they didnt care and it wasn't a big deal, just leave the stuff where it is and too bad if it looks bad on ethical hunters.

G-- D---- worthless DOW office folks. But Like i said, I appreciate most all the field officers/Wardens. Too bad the office folks couldnt care less about something they are there to protect and promote.
 
to the original post, it is NOT new.

it is and has been the hunter's responsibility to know whether the land you are hunting on is public or private. i own property and have had guys drive right up my driveway claiming that they were looking for the BLM land. but, it is several miles away and only 40 acres. if i had not been there, i guarantee the jerk would have been hunting on my property.

hunting on private property and trespassing are two different things. driving up to someones door to ask permission could be construed as trespassing, but i doubt law enforcement would issue a citation unless there was more to the story.

i am really tired of "hunters" around here, it is making me wonder if i want to be categorized with them. there is an outfitter across the fence, they sit on the fence in their cars and wait for the elk to cross the fence. BUT sometimes they send someone over the fence to chase the animals onto their property. i see roadhunters all over the place, last weekend i ran off 6 guys in 2 trucks. they were "glassing" private property, no public land any where near where they were. people that hunt on private property without permission really piss me off.
 
Perhaps this clarifies things. Much like other states, there is criminal trespass and hunter trespass. Colorado is no different. Anytime you enter private property there may criminal trespass being committed - it's all in the eyes of the landowner. Pulling up to the house via vehicle on the driveway I can't imagine a case could be made for hunter trespass. Here is your two applicable Colorado sections - I highlighted the important text in RED:

Criminal Trespass(18-4-504)

1.A person commits the crime of third degree criminal trespass if such person unlawfully enters or remains in or upon premises of another.
2.Third degree criminal trespass is a class 1 petty offense, but:
(a) It is a class 3 misdemeanor if the premises have been classified by the county assessor for the county in which the land is situated as agricultural land pursuant to section 39-1-102 (1.6), C.R.S.; and
(b) It is a class 5 felony if the person trespasses on premises so classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon.

Hunter Trespass(33-6-116)
Hunting, trapping, or fishing on private property - posting public lands.

(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter upon privately owned land or lands under the control of the state board of land commissioners to hunt or take any wildlife by hunting, trapping, or fishing without first obtaining permission from the owner or person in possession of such land.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to post, sign, or indicate that any public lands within this state, not held under an exclusive control lease, are privately owned lands.

(3) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of one hundred dollars and an assessment of twenty license suspension points.
 
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