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Speak Out About Hunting in Colorado

ByMia Anstine
I have repeatedly declared that I purchase every Colorado hunting tag I can whether I have time to hunt the animal or not. There are multiple reasons for this financial decision. One is that I like to eat organic food. I’m a meat eater and enjoy the process of bringing my food from the field to the table. I treasure time in the outdoors and having an open license gives an added excuse to get outdoors.
 
If I happen to have time to hunt it’s likely I’ll have the appropriate license. Many of us lead busy, if not hectic lives. There are years where I don’t have time to pursue the animals for which I’ve purchased a hunting license. I never regret holding an unfilled tag because the funding goes to a great cause.
 
Most humans have a fascination with wildlife. As a hunter, I’m involved in the process of conserving wildlife in more ways than one. One way is to maintain healthy wildlife populations. Another is to provide the required funding to the parks and wildlife organization in our state.
 
Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs funding for administration, education, research, land management, law enforcement, and many other areas. Last year they proposed a financial bill, HB 17-1321, which aimed to increase revenue for the agency. The bill was late in presentation to the legislators, it included about 34 pages of information, and ultimately was too muddled to gain the required amount of support. It passed the House with numerous revisions and was then defeated in the Senate.
 
This year CPW is attempting to narrow the focus and again seek support to increase the funding it needs to operate. They will host a number of public hearings throughout the state. I encourage you to attend one of these events and learn where the needs are and share your input as to how you think they can increase revenue. Learn more below.
 
 
 

The Future of Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Recreation in Colorado

Last year, House Bill 17-1321 Parks and Wildlife Financial Sustainability was introduced, which would have helped CPW achieve and maintain financial sustainability. While HB 17-1321 did not pass, it was encouraging to see how the bill increased public awareness of CPW’s financial needs and generated new conversations about the future of parks, wildlife, and outdoor recreation in Colorado.

Based on that experience and the feedback we heard from the public, we have refined our approach for 2018. We encourage your attendance at live meetings occurring across the state discussing our future.  Here’s an early look at ideas we have that we’d like your thoughts on.

 

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Public Comments

As we continue developing solutions, CPW invites the public to provide feedback on our plans  to fund the future of wildlife management and outdoor recreation in Colorado .

2017 Meetings

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Dates

Location
Thursday, July 13th
6-8 PM		 CPW Colorado Springs Office

 

4255 Sinton Road
Colorado Springs, 80907
Thursday, August 2nd
6:30-8:30 PM		 Council Tree Library

 

2733 Council Tree Ave
Fort Collins, CO, 80525
Thursday, August 24th
6:30-8:30 PM		 R5 High School & Summit School

 

455 N 22nd St
Grand Junction, CO, 81501
Wednesday, September 6th
6-8 PM		 CPW Steamboat Springs Office 
925 Weiss Drive
Steamboat Springs, 80487
Thursday, September 14th
6:30-8:30 P M		 Quality Inn & Suites 
2020 Leisure Ln
Sterling, CO, 80751
Monday, September 25th
6-8 PM		 Region-wide Teleconference. Participate at any of these wildlife offices:

 

Durango — Southwest Regional office, 415 Turner Drive
Gunnison — Area 16 wildlife office, 300 W, New York Ave.
Monte Vista — Area 17 wildlife office, 0722 S Road 1 East
Montrose — Area 18 office, 2300 S. Townsend Ave. (Highway 550)
Tuesday, September 26th
6:30-8:30 PM		 Denver — TBA
Tuesday, September 26th Pueblo

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