Colorado Parks and Wildlife is creating a roster where individuals can sign up for a bison hunting license. 

Interested hunters can apply to be added to the list, which will only be used if management action — such as preventing property of agricultural damage — is required for wild bison that enter Colorado. The state is not creating a regular hunting season for bison. 

Colorado is not home to any herds of wild bison after the species was systematically killed across the West in the 1800s. 

However, a new bill signed into law in May allowed the species to be dual-classified as livestock or wildlife. The bill’s primary goal was to protect wild bison from Utah’s Book Cliffs herds that wander into Colorado near Rangely. Prior to the law being enacted, these animals lost any protections when they entered Colorado and were typically killed. 

Parks and Wildlife estimates that the mismatch in protections has led to a dozen wild bison being killed in Colorado after leaving Utah in the last decade. It estimates that 25 have been killed in the past 20 years. 

Now, free-roaming wild bison are managed by Parks and Wildlife as a big game species, meaning they cannot be killed without a proper license or permission. Privately-owned bison will continue to be managed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as livestock. 

In accordance with the new law, Parks and Wildlife launched a stakeholder process to create a bison management plan in October. The plan will set a bison management area and a population objective range to guide future decisions around wild bison in the area just northwest of Grand Junction, where the animals have previously entered Colorado. In the fall, the wildlife agency’s commission also passed a few regulatory changes, including building a regulatory framework for the potential hunting of wild bison to protect against disease or property damage and that covers compensation for property damages caused by the animals.  

In October, as wildlife advocates urged Parks and Wildlife not to allow hunting of bison, Brian Dreher, assistant director of the terrestrial branch at Parks and Wildlife, said the new regulatory framework merely provides the agency with management options. 

“We don’t have any intentions to hunt these animals in the near term, but we also need some flexibility to deal with any issues that arise,” Dreher said.

With the creation of the “bison roster,” which Parks and Wildlife announced on Jan. 1, hunters will be randomly selected in the event the agency needs to kill a wild bison that is causing issues. The agency reported these special licenses will be issued on a “case-by-case basis for time-sensitive management needs.” Once a hunters’ name is selected, the hunter will be granted a one-week license to kill a bison.

The application to sign up for the roster is available from Jan. 1 to 31 on the Parks and Wildlife website. If a drawing is conducted, successful applicants will be notified by phone and email. Hunters will have 24 hours to respond and accept the license.

The Colorado men’s basketball team won’t be cruising into Big 12 Conference play behind a wave of momentum.

Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Buffaloes will begin play in one of the nation’s most challenging leagues on the heels of one of the most embarrassing home defeats in recent memory.

CU (10-3) turned in another listless defensive performance and the Bears took advantage, handing CU an 86-81 defeat Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center.

It was UNC’s first win against Colorado since Feb. 18, 1936.

UNC shot .739 in the second half (17-for-23) and finished the game 11-for-21 on 3-pointers.

UNC’s Quinn Denker returned from a two-game injury absence to score 33 points against the Buffs. Freshman Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with a season-high 25 points.

This story will be updated.

Northern Colorado 86, Colorado 81

NORTHERN COLORADO (10-3)

Nyeri 2-4 0-0 5, Wisne 6-15 0-0 13, Yamazaki 5-8 5-5 19, Bloch 3-6 0-0 8, Denker 12-18 6-6 33, Shields 3-6 2-6 8, Delano 0-2 0-0 0, Mawien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 13-17 86.

COLORADO (10-3)

Dak 6-14 2-2 16, Rancik 4-13 4-4 14, Malone 2-5 2-2 6, Hargress 8-15 1-1 18, Kossaras 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 9-20 5-6 25, Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Holland 0-4 0-0 0, Ifaola 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 14-15 81.

Halftime: Northern Colorado 37-35; 3-Point Goals: Northern Colorado 11-21 (Yamazaki 4-6, Denker 3-5, Bloch 2-4, Nyeri 1-2, Wisne 1-3, Delano 0-1), Colorado 7-23 (Dak 2-4, Johnson 2-6, Rancik 2-6, Hargress 1-3, Holland 0-1, Kossaras 0-1, Sanders 0-2); Rebounds: Northern Colorado 39 (Denker 8), Colorado 37 (Johnson 8); Assists: Northern Colorado 17 (Denker 8), Colorado 11 (Hargress 5); Total Fouls: Northern Colorado 12, Colorado 14.