Polis Adds Big Game Hunters and Agricultural Leaders to Colorado Wildlife Commission

By Ali Longwell | Sky-Hi News

After Colorado Senators raised concerns with Gov. Jared Polis’ previous nominations for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, the governor has named three new appointees to the volunteer board tasked with guiding the state agency’s policies and regulations. 

Polis announced the three appointments — in addition to reappointments for current commissioners, Gabriel Otero and Richard Reading — on Wednesday, June 3. 

This included Dr. Peter Maguire, a veterinary neurologist in Grand Junction; Rebecca Niemiec, a tenured associate professor at Colorado State University’s Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources in Fort Collins; and Johnny Le Coq, who owns and lives on a ranch north of Silverthorne. 

One of these appointments will replace Eden Vardy, who served the final meeting of his term in May. The other two are to replace John Emerick and Chris Sichko, who were nominated by Polis in June 2025 and Feb. 2026, respectively, but were rejected by the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and withdrew from the process before the full Senate vote earlier this year. 

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