Elk NetworkApplications Open June 5 for Colorado’s New Secondary Big Game Draw

General | June 5, 2020

Below is a portion of a news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Beginning Friday, June 5, 2020, hunters will have the option to apply to draw a license in Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s new secondary big game draw. The secondary draw replaces the old leftover draw. The secondary draw opens after the results of the annual primary big game draw have been posted.

New in 2020, the secondary draw is open to everyone, whether they applied for the primary draw or not. Most elk, deer, pronghorn and bear licenses not issued through the primary draw will now be made available in the secondary draw.

What’s different?

The new secondary draw means increased opportunity. The old leftover draw was only available to customers who participated in the primary draw, did not draw, and only offered deer and elk licenses. The new secondary draw offers two more species: bear and pronghorn licenses, in addition to deer and elk licenses, and is open to all customers whether they applied in the primary draw or not.

The new process provides a preference for youth hunters. Youth hunters have 100% preference in the secondary draw. The secondary draw processes all youth application choices prior to processing adult choices. A hunt could be completely drawn by youth before the adult application stage of the draw.

What to know before you apply

The application fee. You’ll still be charged a fee for applying, whether or not you draw a license. The $7 resident and $9 nonresident application fees apply per species for the secondary draw as well as the primary draw.

No primary draw? No problem. You can apply for the secondary big game draw without having applied for the primary big game draw.

Go here for additional requirements and details.

(Photo source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)