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Tag: Outdoor Recreation

Who’s shaping Colorado’s outdoors? An examination of Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Who’s shaping Colorado’s outdoors? An examination of Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy CPW recently released “Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy.” The first link below takes you to their landing page from which you can download the report itself. Covering this in detail is not feasible here, as the executive summary of the strategy (see the second link below) is 16 pages long. What I wanted to aim for, then, is to give you a jumping off point along with a nodding familiarity with what the report is intended to do, who participated, and the process by which it was made. This will also tie into the second post today: this strategy is reflective of a larger push to rewire our state wildlife and land use policy. If I had to do a one-sentence summary of the Strategy, it ...
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Colorado Governor Hopefuls Split on Wolves Hunting Rights and Rural Priorities
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Governor Hopefuls Split on Wolves Hunting Rights and Rural Priorities

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun The Colorado Sun surveyed the five candidates running for governor to get their plans and priorities for wildlife and the outdoors before Tuesday’s primary. The rural, wildlife and outdoor recreational issues facing the next governor of Colorado are significant, with at least one species at a critical juncture with an uncertain future. On Tuesday, voters across the state will select a Democrat and a Republican from among five candidates to replace term-limited Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat. The winners of Tuesday’s primary election will face off against each other on Nov. 3. The next governor will oversee a state where a voter-mandated wolf reintroduction program has been paused amid escalating clashes with ranchers while the state’s p...
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Before tearing down dams, remember why they were built
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Before tearing down dams, remember why they were built

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com A Montana friend reminded me of an old cowboy adage: “Before you take down a fence, you ought to pause long enough to ask why it was put there.” It’s a principle called “Chesterton’s Fence,” coined by writer G.K. Chesterton who cautioned against acting rashly. He wrote, “a ‘modern reformer’ says of the fence, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ But someone more intelligent refuses until learning why it’s there.” It is the perfect analogy for today’s debate about removing dams, a popular global trend for the past few years. Chesterton’s 1929 book, The Thing, explains the logic that should prevail: “This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense. The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulis...
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Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters
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Sportsmen’s Alliance, Approved, State

Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters

By Sportsmen’s Alliance | Sportsmen’s Alliance Anti-hunting extremists—led by disgraced former Humane Society of the United States executive who was forced to resign amid sexual harassment allegations Wayne Pacelle—petitioned the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) to ban hunting with traditional lead ammunition in the Centennial State. This move comes just months after they snuck an amendment into the federal Farm Bill that would have banned hunting with dogs—a move that Sportsmen’s Alliance defeated. Why are Activists Targeting Lead Ammunition and Tackle? Banning traditional lead ammunition has been the goal of these groups for some time. In 2010, several groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the manu...
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Polis Adds Big Game Hunters and Agricultural Leaders to Colorado Wildlife Commission
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Sky-Hi News, Approved, State

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 t...
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Colorado Pushes Constitutional Protection for Hunting and Fishing Traditions
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All Outdoor, Approved, State

Colorado Pushes Constitutional Protection for Hunting and Fishing Traditions

By Keith Lusher | All Outdoor A campaign is underway to place a constitutional amendment before Colorado voters this November that would permanently protect the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife in the state. Backers say the measure is urgently needed to shield long-standing traditions and the wildlife management system that funds them from shifting political winds. The T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance announced the launch of Initiative 302, which would add a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife across all species managed by the state. The initiative received unanimous approval from the state’s Title Board, and supporters have until August 28 to gather the required signatures to qualify for the ballot. The measure preserves the f...
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Zero Tolerance Policy Targets Rising Lawlessness In Pike National Forest
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Approved, Local, Pikes Peak Courier

Zero Tolerance Policy Targets Rising Lawlessness In Pike National Forest

By Pat Hill | Pikes Peak Courier A recent operation in Pike National Forest by Sheriff Jason Mikesell and his officers resulted in 100 contacts and issued 42 citations. At the same time, the officers put out campfires left unattended. “That was in one weekend,” Mikesell said. Speaking four days before holding a press conference, Mikesell offered a heads-up on the chaos on the forest. “We’ve seen over 300 side-by-sides; the people are from Denver, Aurora, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and out-of-state,” he said. “We’ve found that they are ruining wildlife areas, running off road and tearing up roads that are an access to wildlife.” The sheriff tells of an incident where drivers in a side-by side did multiple “360s” around a tent where a family was probably sleeping at 1:20 a.m. ...
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Colorado Drought Forces Denver Water To Drain Key Reservoir
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Colorado Drought Forces Denver Water To Drain Key Reservoir

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette HARTSEL • The Antero Reservoir isn’t empty yet. But it will be in about six weeks. Facing historically low runoff from this year’s drought-stricken snowpack, Denver Water expects to drain Antero Reservoir within the next six weeks to reduce evaporation losses and preserve water supplies. On May 1, Denver Water began releasing water from the reservoir, which is located 110 miles southwest of Denver. The move is expected to save roughly 5,000 acre-feet. That accounts for about a quarter of the reservoir’s capacity. An acre-foot of water is enough to cover an acre of land with one foot of water — or 325,853.3 gallons. That’s more than four times the amount of water used annually by a typical four-person household in Denver...
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Colorado Voters May Decide Constitutional Right To Hunt And Fish
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Voters May Decide Constitutional Right To Hunt And Fish

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters may well get the chance to weigh in this November on creating a constitutional right to hunt and fish, which proponents say is necessary to protect outdoor sporting activities from an ongoing onslaught of anti-hunting efforts. The T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, a newly formed issue committee, launched  Initiative 302, ‘Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish’ in early April. The ballot measure would amend the state Constitution, establishing hunting, fishing, and harvesting of fish and wildlife as a constitutional right to every Coloradan. It would apply to all species managed by the state except for endangered, federally prohibited, and non-game species. “Coloradans value the state’s long-st...
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Hunters And Anglers Across Colorado Confront Growing Drought Crisis
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The Collegian, Approved, State

Hunters And Anglers Across Colorado Confront Growing Drought Crisis

By Katie Fisher | The Collegian As Colorado faces the lowest snowpack the state has seen in over four decades, 5 million residents across the state have been left to confront how they must adjust their behavior in response to increasing drought conditions. While watering restrictions become more common, some have been forced to reconsider their activities close to land and livelihoods. Big-game hunting is categorized by the practice of hunting large animals on a tag-based licensure system applicable to the state’s public lands. Similarly, angling requires a fishing license in the state of Colorado.  Both sports take several types of strength, according to Kara Van Hoose, a public information officer for C...
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