By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Members of the Associated Governments of Northwestern Colorado (AGNC) were joined recently in a discussion of Proposition 127 by Gaspar Perricone, of the Wildlife Conservation Project and formerly a political advisor, legislative director to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and regional director for Sen. Mark Udall.
If supported by voters, Prop. 127 on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot would ban hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and federally-protected lynx. The measure is the result of an animal rights activist group, Cats aren’t Trophies (CATs), a 501(c) (3) organization who gathered enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot. This is the same process that led to the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado, often termed by opponents as ballot-box biology.
“With the experience of 125 years of wildlife management, we have learned that you can’t manage wildlife in a vacuum. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are the folks who have built up the Serengeti of the West. We boast the largest wildlife populations in the country,” Perricone said. “We use a holistic management approach through CPW, now we have the threat of ‘ballot box biology’. This issue was brought by outside interests, financed by outside funding, people who believe that they know what’s best for us.”
Added Perricone: “Now is not a time to change course, not a time to let small faction groups dictate (wildlife management) in a vacuum.”
According to wildlife experts, a mountain lion will consume one deer per week. With more than 4,000 mountain lions in Colorado, and approximately 400,000 deer, lions are already eating half of the deer population a year. If passed, Prop. 127 will ensure one thing; there will be no more deer in Colorado within five years.
Former CPW Regional Manager Ron Velarde has added his name to a growing list of people opposing Prop. 127. He is one of three past CPW officials who joined AGNC Colorado on the Mesa County courthouse lawn on Friday, Oct. 10, to announce their opposition to the ballot initiative.
“The northwest region (of Colorado) is truly the Serengeti of the West,” said Velarde.
The reason Colorado has the healthiest and most robust wildlife populations in the world is because of the commitment to managing all species in a proven, scientific way that balances the predator and prey animals so that all of our Colorado wildlife is protected., he says.
An unchecked population of apex predators, (mountain lions, wolves, and bear) threatens the populations of deer, elk, moose, antelope and bighorn sheep.
“The 400 to 500 lions that are harvested by hunters are a necessary part of managing the balance between predator and prey species,” Velarde said. “We need to leave this in the hands of CPW, instead of people from back East who don’t know anything about this.”
Without the basic knowledge and expertise of wildlife management best practices, well-meaning voters may not consider predator and prey balances, unintended consequences resulting from overpopulation of apex predators on the other 900-plus species of wildlife, increased competition for food resources and habitat because of unmanaged numbers of lions, wolf and bear, and the unintended consequences of increased livestock predation.
Past CPW Commissioner John Howard is also concerned about the welfare of all Colorado wildlife, if Prop 127 is passed by voters.
“CPW officers will have to kill these animals and then the meat just goes to waste. The taxpayers will have to pay to have these animals killed instead of generating revenue for wildlife conservations and management through hunting licenses and fees,” Howard said.
Added Delta County Commissioner Don Suppes, “The thing we forget is the state of Colorado has worked to build up populations of wildlife in Colorado, not to have it all torn down by this ballot initiative. We have struggled to increase the population of Desert Bighorn to sufficient numbers. Mountain lions are the main predator of the Desert Bighorn. We have to keep this population growing.”
Suppes also discussed the threat to the moose population that the state has worked to reestablish in Colorado. Taxpayers have funded those efforts.
“The efforts to rebuild these populations are not being helped by the wolf initiative or this lion initiative,” Suppes said. “We have to think beyond the cute fluffy terms of keeping these lions around and think (instead) about long term effects on all wildlife.”
Moffat County Commissioner Tony Bohrer added, “This is an issue that deeply affects our community. Prop 127 makes sweeping changes to how we manage wildlife in our state. It may sound good on paper, but those of us who live here know the consequences.”
Bohrer continued, “The unintended consequences could be devastating not only to the ranchers, but to the wildlife itself. Why should we hand over these decisions (wildlife management) to people who make these decisions based on emotions rather than facts (data-driven science) and political ideology?”
Rio Blanco County Commissioner Doug Overton complains the measure takes management from the CPW.
“Bypassing CPW can lead to controversial and divisive outcomes and can be devastating [to prey species],” he said. “A few days ago, a man coming home from work near Meeker saw a mountain lion running across the road with a domestic dog in his mouth. Yesterday, a neighbor of mine had three goats killed in his backyard.”
Mesa County hosted the gathering.
Dan McClain who spoke for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation emphasized the importance of getting hunters, fishermen and outdoorsmen and women to vote.
“Approximately 60 percent of hunters and anglers have not been voting,” he said. “If these people would vote, we would defeat Prop. 127.”
AGNC is made of the county governments in Colorado’s northwestern and central west rural counties, including Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield and Mesa County.