Speak up or step back: Why critics say Coloradans must engage with CPW now

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

Depending on where you get your news, you are probably by now aware that the CPW Commissioners, in a meeting that I’ve heard referred to as a “shit-show” by more than one person, voted to accept a petition by a monied, out of state group. If you missed it or want to hit the high spots again, I put a FencePost article on the meeting. That is the first link below.

This vote came over the recommendations against the petition by their own director and other CPW employees.

Why? From where I stand the reason’s pretty simple: the CPW Commissioners have been (by design from the governor’s office) “captured” by animal rights and environmental groups.

This is not just an impression I have pulled out of thin air. Over and over when I’ve looked, I’ve seen (and shared with you here) the swampy connections between Gov Polis’ appointees to various boards like CPW the State Land Board.

It’s also informed by more recent reporting by the FencePost’s Rachel Gabel. The second link below is to a March 13th story she did entitled “Fur ban supporters made no attempt to hide their intentions”.

Some non-contiguous quotes from that article show what I mean:

“Either Samantha Miller is lying, or Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is. If Miller is lying, she is so secure in the red carpet rolled out for animal activists by this administration that she is willing to put words in the governor’s mouth. If Polis is lying, the deck is stacked against his own agencies and their expertise is worthless. No matter the truth, the governor has a problem on his hands. His Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, filled with his own appointees who make no attempt to mask their intentions, ignored CPW staff, attorneys, stakeholders, and even his brand-new director, and jumped into chaos in the name of ideology.”
“’This will probably be a two-meeting process,’ Miller said [in a social media post about the meeting I allude to above]. ‘What we have been directed from the governor’s office is “don’t let us be shown up in Denver. The next meeting will be in Grand Junction, but you guys are in Denver. Don’t let them show you up in Denver.” Everyone needs to show up.’”

“A representative for the governor’s office, after being sent Miller’s video, told me: ‘While the governor didn’t have a position on the petition and doesn’t take positions on petitions, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff recommended opposing the petition, we are committed to working with stakeholders to craft a rule that supports sportsmen and women while conserving and restoring furbearer species in Colorado. The governor believes that the outdoors are for everyone including hunters and anglers who are a key part of funding and benefiting from the important work of CPW.’”

With Gov Polis, a savvy career politician, it’s important to pay attention to what he doesn’t say and I want you to notice that he doesn’t refute having said to Ms. Miller what she says he did.

Whatever the dynamics are behind the scenes, whatever strings are pulled or not pulled, whatever conversations are or are not happening, one thing is clear.

CPW is not listening to their career service people. CPW is not making decisions based on popular will, either via allowing the legislature to decide on policy or by allowing the people to weigh in directly at the ballot box.

CPW is moving to allow monied, out-of-state advocacy groups to direct policy in Colorado via the backdoor.

In the next post today, I want to talk about what other people are doing about this, what I plan to do about this, and what you can do about this.

https://www.thefencepost.com/news/fur-ban-petition-advanced-to-rulemaking-by-cpw-commission/

https://www.thefencepost.com/news/fur-ban-supporters-made-no-attempt-to-hide-their-intentions/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQw1BZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJRGhaOUFRcW9OdG5jQ01pc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHstci9Pfbn1IL89vFeqK4-N3r2-SNbsDMEj-XFGpH68OvcX1_H1DpPaSZbgp_aem_UjUHjlRvQO0u_rtbhtX04g

https://www.thefencepost.com/news/colorados-leading-wildlife-ag-and-conservation-organizations-unite-in-defense-of-science-based-wildlife-management/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jMwQUE7c6KWYW64rRhZhTJDHCTogW1ma/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111965986728590897986&rtpof=true&sd=true

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What are others doing about the CPW vote? What can you do?

In the post right prior to this one, I discussed the recent CPW vote that allowed a monied, out-of-state environmental group to end-run around the will and desires of Coloradans. It allowed a well-funded group a chance to make policy over the heads of voters. If this vote irked you, if you disagree with it (even if you disagree for reasons other than mine), I wanted to remind you about what you can do.

I am also tossing in some efforts others are making toward this end in case what they think and/or are doing is of some use. My own written comment (and, I hope, soon to be spoken at the May CPW meeting comment) will also be here.

Before looking at anything else, I want to put in a word for speaking up. The commissioners and the governor himself need to be made aware of what a travesty this is. Saying nothing about this is guaranteed to buy you more of it.

The first resource I have to share is a FencePost article detailing a press release by a group of (quoting) “Colorado’s leading wildlife conservation, hunting, agricultural and county organizations” in opposition to CPW’s recent vote to (again, quoting) “advance rulemaking on a citizen petition to prohibit the commercial sale of wildlife fur in Colorado.” **

The press release details a series of concerns this group has about both how the petition was done, what it means for letting biologists make decisions about wildlife, and what it means for a regulatory agency like CPW to act in the way it. I will leave you to read up on those details. If you share this group’s concerns, reading up on their arguments would be a great way to inform your own advocacy on this issue.

That latter provides a wonderful transition to links 2 and 3 below, number two being a link to the CPW commissioner’s page and number three being a link to my previous newsletter on how you can sign up to provide comment at a CPW meeting by calling in from any kind of touchtone phone (landline or cell).

Both have information on upcoming meetings and/or on how to participate.

Worth special mention, given it was not available when I wrote the newsletter: CPW commissioner “office hours”. If you want to know where to find them, look at screenshot 1 attached. The Office Hours are listed below the upcoming CPW commission meetings.

CPW Commissioner Office Hours, particularly for any of the 6 commissioners who voted yes for this petition, would be a great way to give your thoughts to them in a setting where your voice would not be as diluted. If you didn’t know already who the YES votes were, see the image heading this post.

In the screenshot, you’ll notice that I circled the fact that there are no Office Hours posted as of this writing. I emailed CPW to ask about future times and dates. I was told by their spokesman that whether and when to have Office Hours is a decision the commissioners make themselves. As such, he didn’t know when there would be more. Check back on the CPW commissioner’s page if you want to follow. If I see some, I’ll update.

There are a couple more resources to share with you. The fourth link below is to a document with public comment sent to the CPW Commissioners by Sportsperson Roundtable member, self-described (quoting his comment) “Deputy Regional Manager, Sportsman, Landowner, Conservationist and lifelong resident of the state” Dean Riggs.

Mr. Riggs agreed to my sharing it. Please give it a read and feel free to use it as inspiration, in a similar manner to using the press release from the FencePost article.

The fifth link is to my own written comment sent to the CPW Commissioners. I plan to try and attend the May CPW Commissioner meeting virtually and speak it into the record then. If I am unable in May, I’ll try for July.

I want to close with urging you to follow suit with the people/groups I outlined here. Written, spoken, in person, virtual, do something. Say something.

It is unfortunate, but it is reality, that we have to stand up for policy that reflects the wishes of Coloradans and not that of advocates. If you don’t want to see more of what happened at CPW, you need to make it clear that it wasn’t okay.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.