MEEKER — Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Crooked Wash Ranch are offering a few big-game hunters an opportunity to apply for a limited number of free, unguided elk hunts on ranch property this fall. Details and qualification requirements are listed below.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will accept applications until the July 28 deadline. The hunts are open to all eligible hunters with specific licenses. There is no cost associated with the application.

Download the application from the CPW website, and submit it postmarked by July 28 to:
Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Meeker Office
Attn: Nate Martinez/Crooked Wash Ranch
P.O. Box 1181, Meeker, CO 81641

The webpage for the application is cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Hunting/BigGame/Crooked-Wash-Ranch-Special-Hunt-App.pdf

Two opportunities are available to hunters who have already drawn a limited antlerless/cow elk license for Game Management Unit 11 during the 2017 muzzleloader big game hunting season.

Two additional hunts will be available to hunters who have already drawn a limited antlerless/cow elk license for valid for Game Management Unit 11 during the 2017 First Rifle elk hunting season.

The unique opportunity became available through a perpetual conservation easement agreement between The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Crooked Wash Ranch. As part of the efforts of Meeker area wildlife managers to protect big game habitat on a large scale, the agreement allows limited public hunting access in perpetuity on the 9,796-acre Crooked Was Ranch property, located in Moffat County, Game Management Unit 11.

The Crooked Wash Ranch is within the White River elk herd unit, the largest elk population in the state of Colorado. The ranch features a variety of habitat, including sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, grasslands and wetlands.

The following hunts will be available and hunters should be specific about which of these hunting seasons/opportunities they are interested and eligible to apply for:

TWO UNGUIDED ANTLERLESS (COW/CALF) ELK HUNTS DURING MUZZLELOADER SEASON

Muzzleloader Season Dates: Sept. 9-17, 2017

To be eligible, applicants must have drawn a limited elk license with the following hunt code:- EF011O1M
Applicants must confirm eligibility and indicate interest in muzzleloader hunt in the application. Two hunters will be selected from a pool of eligible applicants to hunt a cow/calf elk.

TWO UNGUIDED ANTLERLESS (COW/CALF) ELK HUNTS DURING FIRST RIFLE SEASON

First Rifle Season Dates: Oct. 14-18, 2017

To be eligible, applicants must have drawn a limited elk license with the following hunt code:- EF011O1R
Applicants must confirm eligibility and indicate interest in rifle hunt in the application. Two hunters will be selected from a pool of eligible applicants to hunt a cow/calf elk.

The four chosen hunters will be notified by email soon after the deadline. In addition, those selected will receive specific details from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, including a hunt packet detailing special travel restrictions and hunting access rules.

For more information or questions, call Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Meeker office at 970-878-6090.