6 Wildlife Rules That Get Coloradans Fined Every Fall

National Park Service rangers are closing off several of Rocky Mountain National Park’s meadows every evening this fall, starting at 5 p.m.

The shutdown runs from September 1 through the end of October.

A hiker caught inside one of those meadows after hours can be fined up to $5,000.

These are the wildlife rules that get Coloradans fined every fall.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Wildlife fines, local ordinances, and license fees are subject to change.

1. Feeding Deer and Elk

Colorado law bans intentionally feeding deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions, and bears.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) backs that ban with a $100 fine per violation.

Fall makes it worse.

Black bears spend September and October trying to pack on fat before they den up for winter.

CPW’s guidance says the animals are drawn to pumpkins and birdseed left out in those final weeks, turning a stocked yard into an open invitation.

Take bird feeders down through the fall, CPW advises, since a feeder left up turns into a bear feeder fast.

2. An Unlatched Trash Can

Black bears spend fall racing to add pounds before they den up for winter.

That hunger is what turns an unlatched trash can into the easiest meal in town, easier than a pumpkin patch or a bird feeder.

Mountain towns write tickets for it well before a bear complaint ever comes in.

Aspen fines an unsecured trash can $250 the first time, $500 the second, and up to $1,000 after that.

Snowmass Village runs a wildlife-resistant container rule from April 15 through November 15 every year, according to a local wildlife-coalition group citing the town code.

That keeps the requirement in force through the entire fall, all the way to mid-November.

Colorado Springs added a similar rule west of Interstate 25 in 2020, with fines climbing to $500 for repeat offenders.

Boulder’s version has been on the books since 2014.

It requires bear-resistant containers that meet the city’s testing criteria, not just any latch-and-hope bin.

That container becomes required the moment trash goes out the night before pickup, per the city’s waste rules.

Vail takes it further with a zero-tolerance approach every bear season, and a citation there can run up to $999, plus a possible 180 days in jail.

Statewide, CPW logged 5,259 bear sightings and conflict reports in 2025, the second-highest total since it started tracking them in 2019.

Many trace back to unsecured trash.

3. Skipping the License

Colorado requires a valid license before anyone hunts elk, deer, or bear.

Get caught hunting big game without a license?

The fine isn’t a flat number.

It’s calculated as double the cost of the priciest license Colorado sells for that species, plus 15 license suspension points.

Archery season opens the fall hunting calendar every year, and that penalty follows every hunter into the backcountry from opening day through the last rifle season in November.

Residents and nonresidents face the same formula, though the base license price differs sharply between them.

4. Hunting by Spotlight

Colorado law bans using an artificial light to help hunt or take wildlife.

That covers a spotlight swept across a field after dark, and the violation carries a $200 fine plus 20 license suspension points.

Night-vision scopes and thermal imaging cost more to get caught with under the same law: $2,000, plus those same 20 suspension points.

Twenty points add up fast.

Archery, muzzleloader, and rifle seasons put hunters in the field before dawn and after dusk for weeks each fall, exactly the conditions where a spotlight or a night-vision scope gets used.

5. Leaving the Meat Behind

State wildlife law treats a half-butchered carcass as a crime, not a shortcut.

Take an elk or a deer and remove only the head, hide, antlers, or horns for a trophy.

Walk away from the rest.

State law calls it willful destruction of wildlife.

For big game, that’s a felony.

The fine runs $1,000 to $20,000, plus a hunting license suspension that can last a lifetime.

Fall is when the violation shows up most, simply because fall is when big game seasons run.

Bear hunters already have to bring the hide and skull to a CPW office within 5 business days of harvest, so a mismatched carcass tends to surface fast.

6. Park's Overnight Closures

Rocky Mountain National Park closes several meadows to foot traffic overnight each fall, including Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park, and Upper Beaver Meadow.

The closures run from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. daily, from September 1 through October 31.

The point is keeping visitors away from bull elk mid-rut, when a routine walk past a meadow can turn into a charge.

The park says the closures also give visitors a clearer, safer view of the rut instead of a scramble through the sagebrush to get close.

Bulls get territorial fast.

Step into one of those closures during the restricted hours.

The citation can reach $5,000.