Utes, Colo. agree on hunting rights

DURANGO — Ute Indians would be allowed to hunt and fish year-round on ancestral lands under an agreement the tribe has made with Colorado officials.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe have signed agreements on the fishing and hunting rights.

The Brunot Agreement includes nine counties, four national forests and the towns of Lake City, Telluride, Pagosa Springs and Cortez.

The pact dates to an 1874 agreement between the Southern Utes, Ute Mountain Utes and the federal government. The agreement hasn’t been exercised until now and currently involves only the Southern Utes.

Under the agreement, which still faces a public review, tribal members can take no more than 5 percent of the licenses issued for bighorn sheep, mountain goats and moose.