Walking up on a pronghorn - or maybe a river-bottom deer - just might have something in common with chasing an eastern Colorado ringneck pheasant.

For a number of years, pheasant hunters have enjoyed the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Walk-In Access Program, which provides quick and easy public entry to private farmland for the cost of a $20 permit in addition to a regular small-game hunting license. A pilot Big Game Access Program, focusing on deer and pronghorns, is entering its third year in the state's southeast corner.

An overwhelming majority of hunters, landowners and the wildlife agency has proclaimed the upland-bird program a success. The big-game pilot program will be evaluated after the 2009 hunting seasons. That analysis will help determine whether the program should be kept, scrapped or expanded to other parts of the state, possibly even to include some areas of elk range.

The big-game, walk-in experiment was proposed by Dan

Prenzlow, manager of the DOW's southeast region, after a round of sportsmen's advisory-group meetings. By most early indications, it has been successful.

In its first year, the pilot attracted 184 adult and 32 youth hunters to about 65,500 acres provided by eight landowners, said Travis Black, the DOW's Lamar-area manager who administers the program.

Last year, hunter numbers had more than doubled, to 424 adult and 89 youth hunters. Available acres had increased to 110,786, and 11 landowners participated. The DOW is in the process of acquiring leases for the 2009 seasons, and Black expects the acreage to again be about 100,000.

The pilot includes game-

management units 116, 117, 120, 121, 122, 125, 126 and 127, in eight counties. The concept is similar to the existing walk-in program, with the DOW paying landowners to allow deer and pronghorn hunters onto their property.

Emphasis is on upland grass and prairie habitat for pronghorns and river bottom or riparian land for deer. Payment can range from 25 cents to $3 per acre, depending on property size, habitat type and the number of days hunting is allowed.

The properties are marked with "Walk-in Access" signs, and hunters might enter them only on foot.

Big-game access permits cost $40 for adults, in addition to a regular hunting license. Youth hunters must have an access permit but are not required to pay the special fee. All other regulations, including season dates and

limited-license allocations for management units, remain in effect.

With an April 7 license-

application deadline for hunters, applications from landowners must be received by Feb. 25.

The DOW will process those and, in early March, will post preliminary maps of walk-in properties at Wildlife.State.CO.US/, where landowner applications can also be downloaded.

The program appears to benefit landowners and hunters. Landowners can direct hunters to the portions of their property open to hunting without a stream of doorbell ringing and inquiries from hunters, while receiving a supplement to their income and an added enforcement presence from the DOW.

Hunters are assured of an opportunity to access private land without the potentially time-

consuming process of acquiring permission.

"It's another arrow in our quiver for providing hunters with access and opportunity," said Dave Lovell, assistant southeast regional manager.

Evaluation of the program will include landowner and hunter satisfaction, game harvest by species and overall viability. If deemed a success, it could be expanded.

Areas such as northeastern Colorado, where most pronghorn and deer hunting also occurs on private land, appear likely locations for expansion. Though limited licensing would restrict the number of hunters within a management unit, the walk-ins conceivably could attract a disproportionate amount of pressure, reflecting the demand for public access and the supply.

Mountainous regions with large parcels of national forest and other public land would seem less likely, though considerable potential no doubt exists, especially for late-season hunts. Prime ranch lands often are leased by outfitters, however, and hunting leases could be out of the DOW's price range.

A number of factors, including the willingness of sportsmen to pay extra for the opportunity, must be considered in an assessment of the big-game access program's future.

Given the most basic elements of supply and demand, the choice appears obvious.