My wife and I are considering moving out of Iowa, and of the states we've talked about, Colorado and Utah are on the list.

My question is, how much public land is available to hunters out there? In Iowa, we have very little public land because most of the state is tillable farmland that is privately owned and farmed. I'd like to own my own land someday, but in the nest several years that's probably out of the question so I'm stuck with public lands or getting/buying permission from private land owners.

Thanks,

Mike

There is a lot of public land for hunting and fishing in Colorado. Look at a map and look at all the National Forest lands thereon. Some of the areas may forbid hunting, but many areas allow hunting. The whole Weminuche Wilderness area is open to hunting in SW Colorado and perhaps the whole of the San Juan National Forest which contains the Weminuche Wilderness. I don't know about Utah, but grab your map and look for national forest lands. You might call some of the National Forest field offices to ask if hunting and fishing are allowed on these lands (usually fishing is, but hunting may not be such a sure bet).

Yes Colorado has plently of public land to hunt big game on. Waterfowl can be another story.

We have tons of public land in the U.S. Something around 3rd or 4th most as a percentage sticks in my mind. We have lots of deer, and a great elk herd. The Great Salt Lake is a waterfowl hunter's paradise. tons of rabbits/small game and coyotes as well. Check a bit out at the Utah DWR forum if you would like...
http://utahwildlife.org/forums/index.php

I used to live just on the other side of the Esiegntower Tunnel in Frisco colorado and there is miles and miles of public hunting. The Gore Range. and the continental divide is loaded with elk and mulies. Then you can go over Vail Pass and hunt all around Vail, Avon, Walcott, ect and that is a main migration route....loaded with game. Used to hunt the Piancee Creek Basin but the oil shale people screwed it all up and locked alot of gates. If you like snow and lots of big game you can't go wrong up there.

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