Shooting prairie dogs in Colorado is legal. Recreational hunters need a small game license and must stick to the June 15 through end-of-February public-land season, while landowners can remove prairie dogs on their own property year-round without a license. Get the details wrong and you’re looking at fines, suspension points against your hunting privileges, or in some trespass situations, criminal charges.
When You Can Shoot
The season split between public and private land is the biggest rule to know.
On public land, the season for all three resident prairie dog species — Black-tailed, White-tailed, and Gunnison’s — runs from June 15 through the end of February. The spring and early summer closure protects nursing young and gives colonies time to recover. Some federal lands, including Pawnee National Grassland, allow shooting only in posted areas, so check for localized restrictions before you set up.
On private land, there is no closed season. Colorado’s Department of Agriculture classifies prairie dogs as a nuisance species, and landowners or their authorized agents can hunt them any month of the year.
License and Paperwork
Recreational hunters need to have the following before heading into the field:
- A small game license. Resident annual licenses cost $38.49; non-resident annual licenses cost $98.92. One-day and additional-day options are also available.
- A hunter education certificate, required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1949, who applies for a Colorado hunting license.
- A habitat stamp, automatically added to any license purchase for hunters aged 18 to 64. It costs roughly $12.50.
- A government-issued photo ID, carried alongside your license in the field.
Everything is available through the CPW online portal. A digital license is issued immediately after purchase, and a physical copy arrives by mail within a few days.
If You Own the Land
Landowners don’t need a hunting license to remove prairie dogs from their own property, and anyone helping counts as the owner’s agent and is also exempt. The exemption exists because prairie dogs are classified as a nuisance species under Colorado agricultural law, and the damage they cause to rangeland and crops can be severe. The exemption applies only on the landowner’s own property.
If You’re Hunting Someone Else’s Land
You need both a small game license and the landowner’s permission. Get that permission in writing.
Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-4-504 defines third-degree criminal trespass as unlawfully entering or remaining on another person’s premises. The baseline penalty is a petty offense carrying a fine of up to $300 and up to 10 days in jail. Trespassing on agricultural land with intent to commit a felony jumps to a class 5 felony. Wildlife officers and local law enforcement both have authority to check for trespass, and a verbal “I thought it was okay” rarely holds up.
Bag Limits and Equipment
Colorado sets no daily bag limit and no possession limit for prairie dogs on either public or private land. You can shoot as many as you want during a legal hunting day, which is part of why prairie dog hunting is popular with long-range shooters looking for volume. The absence of a bag limit doesn’t waive the other rules — season dates, licensing, and safety zones still apply.
Allowed equipment covers centerfire rifles, rimfire rifles, handguns, shotguns, and handheld bows. There are no caliber restrictions specific to prairie dogs. Most hunters favor small-caliber centerfire rifles like a .223 or .22-250 for the balance of accuracy and low recoil at typical distances.
Toxicants and baiting are prohibited on public land to protect non-target wildlife. Raptors, black-footed ferrets, and other scavengers can die from secondary poisoning when prairie dogs are killed with toxicants. On private land, landowners have additional control methods regulated by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, but those sit outside recreational hunting rules.
Where You Cannot Shoot
Prairie dog colonies often sit right alongside county roads, and this is where hunters get into trouble more than almost anywhere else. Colorado prohibits discharging a firearm from, on, or across any public road. Hunting with rifles, handguns, shotguns firing slugs, or archery equipment is prohibited within 50 feet of the centerline of any public road. On divided roads, the 50-foot buffer is measured from the centerline of both roadways, and the median is included in the restricted zone.
Local ordinances can add restrictions near residential or developed areas. County sheriffs and municipal police enforce these independently of state hunting regulations, so a valid hunting license won’t shield you from a local firearms-discharge citation. Wildlife officers know the road-shooting temptation is real and patrol accordingly.
Plague and Tularemia
Prairie dog colonies in Colorado regularly carry sylvatic plague, the same bacterium behind bubonic plague in humans. Plague spreads primarily through the bites of infected fleas, and an active colony can harbor thousands of them. Colorado is one of six western states where plague is regularly found in prairie habitats.
CPW recommends several precautions for anyone handling prairie dogs or spending time near colonies:
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, and apply insect repellent to exposed skin and clothing to deter fleas.
- Never handle sick or dead wildlife you find in the field.
- When field dressing harvested animals, wear gloves and avoid contact with tissues, fluids, and fleas.
- If a colony looks suddenly abandoned or you see multiple dead prairie dogs above ground, leave the area. Mass die-offs are a strong indicator of an active plague outbreak.
Tularemia is another concern. This bacterial infection can spread through direct contact with infected animals and has been documented in prairie dogs. Early symptoms resemble the flu but can become serious without treatment. If you develop a fever, swollen lymph nodes, or skin ulcers within a few days of handling prairie dogs, see a doctor and mention the exposure.
What Violations Cost You
Colorado runs a point-based system for wildlife violations. Accumulate enough suspension points and you lose your hunting privileges across the state, sometimes for years. The penalties most relevant to prairie dog hunters:
- Hunting without a license is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for the species, plus 10 license suspension points. For small game, that’s roughly double the non-resident annual fee.
- Hunting without carrying a valid license on your person, even if you bought one and left it at home, brings a $100 fine plus 10 suspension points.
- Failing to carry hunter education certification: $100 fine and 10 suspension points.
- Out-of-season hunting on public land carries variable fines and suspension points that compound quickly with repeat offenses.
Suspension points are cumulative. Points from different violations stack, and once you cross the threshold, CPW suspends all your hunting and fishing privileges. For someone who hunts multiple species, a minor prairie dog infraction can jeopardize an elk or deer tag down the road.