COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE

​​​​​Registration deadline is 11:59pm (MST) December 1 to be eligible for the drawing for the following year.

The registration must be properly completed AND submitted by the deadline. If a registration is submitted after the deadline, the registration will be processed for the following license year plus one. If submitting a registration renewal, all of the land details will still need to be completed.

Example: If a properly completed registration is submitted on December 1, 2020, the registration will be processed for the 2021 drawing. If a registration is submitted on December 2, 2020, the registration will be processed for the 2022 drawing.

• ​​​​​​Overview

• ​Definitions

• Qualifications

• Registration Process

• Quota Pool Allocation

• Application Allocation

• Application Process

• Draw Process

• LPP Voucher Advertisement Rules

• Voucher Transfer

• ​​Voucher Redeemed for License

• Disqualification

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Reminders and General Information

Overview:

The Landowner Preference Program (LPP) was created to give landowners a preference for hunting licenses to encourage private landowners to provide habitat that increases wildlife populations for the benefit of all hunters, discourage the harboring of game animals on private lands during public hunting seasons, and relieve hunting pressure on public lands by increasing game hunting on private lands.

With the passage of Senate Bill 13-188, the Landowner Preference Program was created. The LPP replaces all previous landowner preference systems. In order to apply for landowner preference, the deeded landowner must register the deeded land with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) by December 1 to be eligible for the drawing the following year. Early registration is highly encouraged. LPP registrations are valid for up to five (5) years.

All registrations submitted will be audited and verified by the local Colorado Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer for compliance with eligibility requirements of this program. Notice of any noncompliance will be provided in writing to the landowner and the landowner shall have thirty (30) days to resolve the noncompliance or withdraw the land from the LPP. In addition, any false statement(s) made in connection with the registration or any subsequent application or voucher as a result of submitting a registration for landowner preference, may be prosecuted.

Landowner Preference Program is implemented under authority by:

Colorado Revised Statutes: Title 33, Article 4, 103Colorado Parks and Wildlife Regulations: Chapter W2, 206, B, 4

The registration deadline is 11:59pm (MST) on December 1 to be eligible for the drawing the following year. The registration must be properly completed AND submitted by the deadline. Early registration is highly encouraged. There is no fee to submit a registration for the LPP. ​​

Definitions:

For the purposes of the Landowner Preference Program, the following definitions are used as defined by Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations (Chapter W2, 200, K):

• Agricultural Land: means lands classified for the purposes of taxation as agricultural.
• Broker: means for a third party to transfer a voucher for compensation for any other consideration, or otherwise arrange for such transfer, on behalf of the landowner, or land manager or on behalf of any individual.
• Land Manager: means an individual designated in writing by the landowner who is 1) a ranch manager, property manager, business partner, employee, or relative of the landowner who has control of the property or 2) a licensed outfitter or other individual who has entered into a written agreement with the landowner for control of the hunting operations on the property, and who has a working knowledge of the property, including but not limited to, boundaries and access points.
• Landowner: means a person that owns private agricultural land in Colorado, as shown by a recorded deed.
• Transfer: means to buy, sell, assign, trade, exchange, acquire or otherwise arrange to buy, sell, assign, trade, exchange, acquire or dispose of a voucher.
• Immediate Family: means the landowner’s spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, and sibling including in-law and step relations.
• Voucher: means a document issued by the division, authorizing the landowner or any individual to whom the document is lawfully transferred to purchase a hunting license for the unit, species, sex, and season printed on the document.
• Landowner Preference Program (LPP): means the license preference program for owners of private agricultural land established by § 33-4-103, Colorado Revised Statutes, and any implementing regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

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Qualifications:

For a landowner as shown by a recorded deed to qualify for the Landowner Preference Program in Colorado, the land must meet all of the following qualifications:

1. Be a minimum of 160 contiguous acres of private agricultural land; AND;
2. Be inhabited by the species being applied for in significant numbers throughout the year or in substantial numbers for shorter times; AND;
3. Provide for the species being applied for: wintering habitat, transitional habitat, calving areas, solitude areas, migration corridors, or provide a forage source; AND;
4. Have a history of game damage or a huntable population of the species being applied for; AND;
5. Be within a Game Management Unit (GMU) for which all rifle licenses are totally limited for the species (deer, elk, or pronghorn) being applied for; AND;

The landowner must agree that:

1. The landowner will submit in writing any changes to information provided on the registration to Colorado Parks and Wildlife within thirty (30) days; AND;
2. Vouchers shall only be transferred by the landowner or the landowner’s designated land manager, if any, directly to an individual to be used by that individual for the purchase of a license; AND;
3. A voucher that has been transferred by any person who is not the landowner or designated land manager is void. A voucher that is brokered for another person is void. A hunting license obtained for use with a void voucher is also void. No person shall broker a voucher on behalf of any landowner or person, or use or possess any brokered voucher; AND;
4. The transfer of a voucher by a landowner or designated land manager must include permission to access and hunt all of the land that is registered for which the voucher was awarded, and for the entire season for which the voucher was awarded; without discrimination among hunters entering the land or contain restrictions other than manner of access (i.e. foot, horseback, vehicular) reasonably necessary to prevent damage to land; AND;
5. By participating in the Landowner Preference Program, the landowner shall be required to file any required reports using the forms provided by CPW; and those reports must be complete and correct, and submitted to CPW within thirty (30) days after the close of the season.

Registration Process:

The registration deadline is 11:59pm (MST) on December 1 to be eligible for the drawing the following year. The registration must be properly completed AND submitted by the deadline. Early registration is highly encouraged.

​Important: Only a deeded landowner, or officer if the land is held in a corporation or other legal entity, may submit a registration.

Quota Pool Allocation:

Deer, Elk, and Pronghorn are the only species eligible for landowner preference. Landowner preference is only available in a Game Management Unit (GMU) that is totally limited for ALL rifle licenses for the eligible species.

This means: If you are able to purchase an over-the-counter license for ANY rifle season for the GMU, there is no landowner preference for that species.

For a species that is eligible for landowner preference in a GMU, quota will be allocated by hunt code according to the following table:

For all Game Management Units west of I-25:

• General Quota Pool: 10% of all general public quota may be issued as a voucher that is valid for the specific hunt code
• Restricted Quota Pool: 10% of all general public quota may be issued as a voucher that is valid for the specific hunt code AND is restricted to Private-Land-Only

For all Game Management Units east of I-25:

• General Quota Pool: 15% of all general public quota may be issued as a voucher that is valid for the specific hunt code
• Restricted Quota Pool: 10% of all general public quota may be issued as a voucher that is valid for the specific hunt code AND is restricted to Private-Land-Only AND may only be transferred to an immediate family member* or youth**

* Immediate Family is defined in the Definitions section.​** Youth means a person 12 to 17 years old who is an eligible hunter.​​

Application Allocation:

Registered landowners for the LPP will receive a number of applications based upon the number of deeded acres owned and properly registered. Applications will be allocated according to the following acreage tier table:

​Registered Acres ​Number of applications160 to 639 acres1 application640 to 1239 acres1 application and 1 Private-Land-Only application*1240 to 1839 acres2 applications1840 to 2439 acres3 applications2440 to 3039 acres4 applications3040 to 3639 acres5 applications3640 to 4239 acres6 applications4240 to 4839 acres7 applications4840 to 5439 acres8 applications5440 to 6039 acres9 applications6040 to 6639 acres10 applications6640 to 7239 acres11 applications7240 to 7839 acres12 applications7840 to 8439 acres13 applications8440 to 9039 acres14 applications9040 to 9639 acres15 applications9640 to 10239 acres16 applications10240 to 10839 acres17 applications10840 to 11439 acres18 applications11440 or more acres19 applications

* 1 Private-Land-Only application means: If this application is successfully drawn for a voucher, the voucher issued will automatically be restricted to Private-Land-Only.

Application Process:

After a properly completed registration has been submitted, an application packet is mailed to the landowner for each eligible species indicated on the registration (see Quota Pool Allocation for eligible species). A separate envelope will be mailed for each eligible species. Application packets are mailed around the middle of February. This is about the same time as the Big Game Brochure is available.

The application packet contains: the appropriate number of applications based upon the total deeded acres on the registration, with leftover choice options, and instructions.

LPP applications are NOT a guaranteed a license (voucher); there is still a draw process.

The LPP Application with Leftover Choice Options is on the same form. On the LPP Application with Leftover Choice Options, the landowner may choose if a hunt code choice submitted is for the General Quota Pool only or if the hunt code choice is for both the General Quota Pool and the Restricted Quota Pool. Each hunt code choice on the form has an “Opt Out of Restricted Quota Pool” checkbox. If a landowner does NOT want a specific hunt code choice to be eligible for the Restricted Quota Pool, the landowner indicates this by checking the “Opt Out of Restricted Quota Pool” checkbox.

LPP Application (top of the form): The landowner will select from the list of available hunt codes printed on the application. Similar to the application process for the general public hunters, there is a 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and 4th choice option. The landowner will complete the hunt code choice(s) and sign the certification on the application(s). The landowner submits the application(s) with the appropriate non-refundable application fee by the deadline. As of the 2022 Big Game Draw, the non-refundable application fee is $7.13 per application.​

Leftover Choice Options (bottom of the form):

If any quota is still available from the landowner quota after the LPP Application (top of the form) draw is complete, registered landowners may use the leftover choice options (bottom of the form) to request additional vouchers.

Landowners may submit up to three (3) leftover choice options (hunt codes) per LPP application received. Landowners may only use the same eligible hunt codes that are printed on the LPP application for the leftover choice options with the exception of the preference point only hunt code (Leftover Choice Options do not use or generate preference points)

Landowners applying for vouchers using the leftover choice options shall pay $25 for each female (antlerless/doe/cow) leftover choice and $40 for each either-sex or male (antlered/buck/bull) leftover choice. A Leftover Hunt Code Choice fee is refunded if unsuccessful for the choice.

Draw Process:

​ The LPP Applications with Leftover Choice Options are processed in the draw as follows:

• The LPP 1st Choice Hunt Code (top of the form) goes through the draw for the General Quota Pool. After this is complete, any unsuccessful 1st Choice Hunt Code (top of the form) goes through the draw for the Restricted Quota Pool. If the “Opt Out” box is checked, the 1st Choice Hunt Code Choice will not go through the draw process for the Restricted Quota Pool.
  • If a 1st Choice Hunt Code is successfully drawn, a voucher for that specific hunt code will be awarded from the appropriate Quota Pool; and the preference points for the application will be reset to zero (0) regardless of quota pool. If a voucher is NOT awarded for a valid 1st Choice Hunt Code, the application is awarded a preference point.
• After the 1st Choice Hunt Code draw is complete for both the General Quota Pool and the Restricted Quota Pool; any remaining unsuccessful application repeats this same process for 2nd Choice Hunt Codes. Then the same process repeats for any remaining unsuccessful application for 3rd Choice Hunt Codes; and then again, the same process repeats for any remaining unsuccessful application for 4th Choice Hunt Codes.
  • Drawing a voucher as a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th choice, regardless of quota pool, does not affect the application’s preference point level.
  • LPP application (top of the form) can only be successfully drawn for a maximum of one choice.
• After all of the Choice Hunt Codes (top of the form) are complete, any remaining LPP Quota from the General Quota Pool and Restricted Quota Pool are available for the LPP Leftover Hunt Code Choices (bottom of the form). The process, as described above, is repeated for the Leftover 1st Choice Hunt Codes, then 2nd Choice Hunt Codes, and then 3rd Choice Hunt Codes.
  • NOTE: The Leftover Hunt Code Choices can result in multiple vouchers. You may be successful for 0, 1, 2, or 3 Leftover Hunt Code Choices.
  • The Leftover Hunt Code Choices do NOT use or generate preference points.
  • A Leftover Hunt Code Choice fee is refunded if unsuccessful for the choice.

• Any remaining LPP Quota from either quota pool reverts back to the general quota. Beginning of June, landowners will be emailed draw results. Draw result packets (vouchers) will be mailed the middle of June. The draw results packets are mailed separately for each species. In addition, any refund due the landowner is also mailed separately, also by species. In the draw results packet will be a confirmation of the draw results of the LPP Applications with Leftover Choice Options. Any voucher(s) that is drawn for that species will also be included in the packet.

LPP Voucher Advertisement Rules:

A landowner or the designated land manager:

• May advertise a voucher if;
  • Contact information must be listed for the landowner/designated land manager;
  • If a payment is required to place the advertisement:
    • Payment is a flat fee for the advertising;
    • Payment is NOT based upon the sale price;
    • Payment is NOT commission based;
    • Payment is NOT contingent upon the sale/transfer of the voucher.
  • ​ If there is no advertising payment or fee:
    • No fee or commission can be paid contingent upon the sale of the voucher.

• May NOT pay a referral fee for connecting a hunter and landowner/designated land manager together for the purposes of transferring a voucher.

An individual/company:

• May accept an advertisement if;
  • Contact information must be listed for the landowner/designated land manager;
  • If a payment is required to place the advertisement:
    • Payment is a flat fee for the advertising;
    • Payment is NOT based upon the sale price;
    • Payment is NOT commission based;
    • Payment is NOT contingent upon the sale/transfer of the voucher.
  • If there is no advertising payment or fee:
    • No fee or commission can be charged contingent upon the sale of the voucher.
• May NOT receive a referral fee for connecting a hunter and landowner/designated land manager together for the purposes of transferring a voucher.
• May not charge a fee for contact information for a landowner for the purposes of acquiring a voucher;
• May not charge a membership fee to allow access to landowner contact information for the purposes of acquiring a voucher.

A hunter may advertise freely looking for a voucher to acquire.

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Voucher Transfer:

The voucher must be transferred from the landowner, or the designated land manager, directly to the individual to be used by that individual for the purchase of a license. Any voucher that is transferred by any person who is not the landowner or designated land manager is VOID. Any license purchased with a void voucher is VOID.