By Ali Longwell | Summit Daily
The state wildlife agency is tasked with implementing new legislation — some it asked for and some it did not
Over 120 days, Colorado lawmakers introduced over 650 bills in the 2025 legislative session.
Among those that passed were several that will have implications for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as it tackles illegal wildlife traffic, manages hunting and sport shooting activities, continues the voter-mandated reintroduction of gray wolves and more.
Senate Bill 2: How Colorado’s gun control bill will affect Parks and Wildlife
One of the major bills this legislative session was a gun control bill measure that requires new training and background checks before individuals can purchase semi-automatic guns that accept detachable magazines. Parks and Wildlife will play a role in the legislation’s rollout.
“Much like anything else, if there’s a law passed, it’s our responsibility to carry it out, regardless of our politics or personal feelings,” said Ty Petersberg, the chief law enforcement officer for the wildlife agency, at the May commissioner meeting.
The bill was not sponsored by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources or Parks and Wildlife, Petersberg noted at the meeting. But the agencies were involved since its inception in advocating for hunters and sports shooters, he added.
“The responsibility that will fall on CPW is to maintain a database relative to the program and the requirements to be able to purchase some of these firearms,” he said. “We’re going to be working hand-in-hand with the sheriff’s offices across the state to implement the program.”
While the new state training will not fall on Parks and Wildlife staff, the agency is expected to be involved in overseeing what the program and protocol look like, he said.
It will also have implications for the agency’s hunter education programming.
“The gist of it is if you have a verified hunter education certificate, then your requirement is a four-hour additional class to purchase these firearms. If you don’t, then it’s a 12-hour class,” he said.
The new rules will go into effect in August 2026.
“We have a grand total of 14 months to get this in place, so it’ll be pretty intense,” Petersberg said.
Senate Bill 38: Protecting personal information in wildlife damage claims
Signed into law in March, this bill allows for ranchers’ names, addresses and businesses to remain confidential on documents requesting compensation for damage caused by wildlife or on-site assessments documents that recommend site-specific, nonlethal conflict mitigation techniques. The bill comes amid the state’s reintroduction of gray wolves. Proponents of the bill argued that this would help producers seek compensation without fear of retribution.