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Tag: Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Rising Livestock Losses Put Colorado Wolf Management Under Scrutiny
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The Coloradoan, Approved, State

Rising Livestock Losses Put Colorado Wolf Management Under Scrutiny

By Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan Colorado wildlife officials have killed four wolves in the past three months, including two Sept. 7, and wildlife officers are reported to be attempting to kill another wolf after a rash of livestock depredations spread over multiple counties. The latest two lethal removals were of two uncollared wolves, one from the Copper Creek pack in Pitkin County and one from the Three Rivers pack in Rio Blanco County, according to a state wildlife agency news release Sept. 8. Colorado has seen depredations spike, with 21 confirmed depredations in August, 13 in July and 51 this year as of Sept. 6., according to the agency's depredation page. The previous depredation high was 37 in 2025. Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates the state has a ...
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If they control your ammunition, they control your rifle
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

If they control your ammunition, they control your rifle

By Sean M. Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice If you hunt, own a gun, raise livestock or care about the Second Amendment, you need to pay attention to what is happening at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The people coming after hunting have found an easier path than convincing Colorado voters. They can take a so-called citizen petition to an appointed commission and ask that commission to regulate hunters out of the field. They do not have to ban your rifle if they ban the ammunition it fires. That is exactly what one petition now before the Commission is designed to do. The proposal seeks a statewide ban on traditional lead ammunition while taking wildlife. It was filed by 18 organizations and presented by attorneys for Animal Wellness Action and ...
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Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses

By Marianne Goodland The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump has directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to launch a 90-day review on whether gray wolves and Mexican wolves should be removed from Endangered Species Act protections. The order drew mixed reactions for Colorado’s wolf-reintroduction effort, with ranchers and some state leaders calling it a step toward more flexible management, while wolf advocates argue it strips away key safeguards. If Burgum determines delisting or downlisting is warranted, the order said states would be encouraged to remove gray wolves and Mexican wolves from their own protected species lists and to loosen lethal-control standards to help ranchers respond to predation. The order also says the Interior Secretary...
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CPW Commission Rejects Public Comment Restrictions in Narrow 6-to-5 Vote
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Colorado West News Magazine, Approved, State

CPW Commission Rejects Public Comment Restrictions in Narrow 6-to-5 Vote

By Brian Porter | Colorado West News Magazine LA JUNTA, Colo. – It’s the dysfunction of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission, and not the public, causing marathon meetings that derail agendas, Commissioner Dallas May said Wednesday. He successfully opposed a plan by Chairman Jay Tutchton that would have significantly changed public commenting during the two-day meeting at Otero College in La Junta, minimizing the perspective of public officials and not absolutely guaranteeing anyone the opportunity to comment. “Our elected representatives speak for thousands of constituents,” May said, supporting an existing policy which allows them priority in sequence and for added time of five minutes. An example is Merrit Linke, who spoke to the Commission in July. H...
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After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup

By John Ingold and Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Are cantaloupes and peppers safe to eat? How will the river get clean? Everything we know about what comes next after a 4.25 million gallon sewage spill. A massive spill of raw sewage and untreated wastewater into the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado continues to wreak havoc on the region. Water in the river downstream of the spill, east of Pueblo, is still testing high for dangerous nasties like the bacteria E. coli. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday issued advisories for people to stay away from the water in 10 state wildlife areas along the river, as well as the Las Animas State Fish Hatchery. And all of this is happening during one of the most agriculturally important times for the Lower Ark...
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Colorado Counties Push Back as CPW Rules Could Silence Local Voices
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Counties Push Back as CPW Rules Could Silence Local Voices

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The September meeting of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will feature newly revised public‑comment rules — changes introduced by chair Jay Tutchton of Bent County, who announced them without first discussing the revisions publicly with the rest of the commission. Tutchton set forth the new rules as follows: The general public comment agenda item will be set at 60 minutes.  Virtual and in-person commenters will be called at random, replacing the previous first-come, first-served system of signing up and prioritizing in-person first opportunities.  The Commission will hear commenters in a two-thirds split, allowing only a third of the speakers to come from the online platform. Priority, in terms of receiving a...
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Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution

By Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters will decide in November whether to enshrine hunting and fishing as a constitutional right, after the secretary of state’s office on Wednesday confirmed Initiative #302 qualified for the general election ballot. Backers of the measure, formally titled “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” turned in over 184,000 petition signatures, with state election officials declaring more than 145,000 of those as valid, easily clearing the roughly 124,000 signature threshold required for constitutional amendments, as well as the 2% per-district requirement in all 35 of Colorado’s state senate districts. The measure, backed by the newly formed T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, amends the Colorado Constitution to establish...
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Weighted, primed and paid: A walkthrough of the survey behind Colorado’s furbearer vote
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Weighted, primed and paid: A walkthrough of the survey behind Colorado’s furbearer vote

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Dr. Niemiec's Deeply Flawed Research At a recent Colorado Parks and Wildlife meeting, newly-appointed CPW commissioner Dr. Niemiec produced an incredibly flawed study to help back up her motion regarding furbearer bag limits, a change in policy that was not on the agenda and for which there was no opportunity for comment by the public. If you would like to read up on the meeting itself and a potential lawsuit, see an earlier newsletter linked first below.Not too long after writing the earlier newsletter, a reader shared the Club 20 article (linked second below) providing some context and background on the work. In addition to encouraging you to read the piece, it provides a great excuse to follow up on the ...
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Hunters Warn Colorado Wildlife Commission of Legal Challenge Over Furbearer Limits
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Hunters Warn Colorado Wildlife Commission of Legal Challenge Over Furbearer Limits

By Derek Draplin | Complete Colorado DENVER—Two groups representing hunters are warning Colorado’s wildlife commissioners to withdraw their recent vote that restricted the bag limit for furbearer species to two per day, or potentially face a lawsuit. The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Safari Club International argue in an August 5 letter to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission that hunters and trappers were deprived of providing public comment when commissioners adopted the two-furbearer daily bag limit that was pushed by one of Gov. Jared Polis’s appointees to the commission. The letter lays out how the commission gave public notice of two options under consideration: a daily bag limit of 15, or a bag limit of up to eight (or four), depe...
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Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The Colorado chapter of the National Rifle Association is seeking an injunction to stop the state from enforcing a new law that took effect earlier this month. The new law requires anyone buying or selling certain firearms to first complete a safety training course offered through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Under Senate Bill 003, the course is mandatory for anyone planning to purchase a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun or handgun with a detachable magazine. The Colorado State Shooting Association had filed a lawsuit last September, challenging the law’s constitutionality and arguing it places “unlawful burdens on the rights of law-abiding Coloradans.” “A government that makes you ask permission to buy a firearm ...
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