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Tag: Wildlife Policy

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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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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Colorado Wolf Program Costs Taxpayers More Than $1 Million In Livestock Claims
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Program Costs Taxpayers More Than $1 Million In Livestock Claims

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics After paying more than $700,000 in March to ranchers for livestock lost to wolves, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is poised to approve two additional claims totaling $262,000 at its meeting this week. Those approvals would bring total payouts to about $970,000 with another $56,000 in claims rejected across the March and May meetings. And that figure only reflects claims requiring commission approval. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff can sign off on claims under $20,000, and the state’s wolf‑depredation website shows that, in 2025, the agency received 32 such claims totaling $47, 142.55, ranging from $88.50 to $3,500. That’s a total of $1.072 million for 2025 alone. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT...
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Lawmakers Push Back On Taxpayer Funding For Colorado Wolf Program
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Lawmakers Push Back On Taxpayer Funding For Colorado Wolf Program

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Sen. Dylan Roberts and Rep. Meghan Lukens led the charge to keep Colorado Parks and Wildlife from using general fund money to bring more wolves to Colorado. The General Assembly sent a strong message over the last few days to Gov. Jared Polis in footnotes to the proposed state budget: Stop using general fund money to reintroduce wolves to Colorado. Footnotes to the budget, also known as the long bill, aren’t legally binding. And the spending plan still has a few steps to go before it can be signed into law by Polis. But if approved, Colorado Parks and Wildlife would be on notice not to use taxpayer money to reintroduce wolves. Instead, lawmakers want the program authorized by voters in 2020 to rely on gifts, grants an...
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CPW nominee under scrutiny as broader concerns surface about board power
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

CPW nominee under scrutiny as broader concerns surface about board power

Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Some questions for CPW hopeful Christopher Sichko Last Wednesday I posted about the upcoming Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing for three of Gov. Polis’ CPW appointees. If you want or need the context from the earlier newsletter, you’ll find it linked first below. A reader noted something interesting about one of the commissioner candidates. When I read what they wrote, I got curious and thought I would follow up with Mr. Sichko. The second link below is to a 10/25/2024 article in Elevation Outdoors entitled “LOCAL HEROES: Christopher Sichko, PHD”. The relevant part comes from the bottom of the article. Quoting: “Sichko says, ‘My ultimate goal is to support the regener...
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Livestock Losses And Budget Overruns Fuel Federal Review of Colorado’s Wolf Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Livestock Losses And Budget Overruns Fuel Federal Review of Colorado’s Wolf Program

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Federal wildlife officials have opened a formal review of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, launching a public comment period to assess how the state has handled rising conflicts between wolves and livestock. A notice from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was published in the Federal Register on Monday, setting a June 5 deadline for the comments. The notice says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information on how Colorado has implemented the federal 10(j) rule issued in 2023. It also explains that the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with Colorado Parks and Wildlife outlining goals, such as providing timely public updates on the restoration program, conducting outreach, and carrying out ...
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Speak up or step back: Why critics say Coloradans must engage with CPW now
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Speak up or step back: Why critics say Coloradans must engage with CPW now

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Depending on where you get your news, you are probably by now aware that the CPW Commissioners, in a meeting that I’ve heard referred to as a “shit-show” by more than one person, voted to accept a petition by a monied, out of state group. If you missed it or want to hit the high spots again, I put a FencePost article on the meeting. That is the first link below.This vote came over the recommendations against the petition by their own director and other CPW employees.Why? From where I stand the reason’s pretty simple: the CPW Commissioners have been (by design from the governor’s office) “captured” by animal rights and environmental groups.This is not just an impression I have pulled out of thin air. Over and over w...
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Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall

Byline: By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The panel of legislators charged with crafting the budget on Monday rejected a proposal that proponents said would increase transparency around how much Colorado Parks and Wildlife spends to bring additional wolves into the state. At the same time, the wildlife agency is seeking $450,000 in general funds for fiscal year 2026–27 — twice what it spent in 2025 — to acquire more wolves, even though the agency has not identified where the animals would come from. The request arrives as the state faces a projected $1.5 billion shortfall in the general fund budget in next year’s spending plan. Joint Budget Committee staff had recommended creating a separate budget line beginning in 2026–27 to clearly show the state’s spe...
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Colorado Wolf Compensation Claims Top $700K In 2025 Far Exceeding State Fund
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Compensation Claims Top $700K In 2025 Far Exceeding State Fund

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approved more than $706,000 in wolf depredation claims for 2025 during its March meeting last week, an amount that exceeds the state’s annual wolf compensation fund by more than double. The commission also rejected another $53,611 in claims. But more claims are expected, based on comments from Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff in January.  Of the claims approved last week, $615,000 was listed on the commission’s consent agenda; another claim for $125,265 was split, with $91,170 approved for payment and the rest denied. There were several other claims recommended for denial by CPW staff, which the commission affirmed. A CPW official told a joint meeting of the House and Sena...
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Wolf Advocates Push Stricter Rules Before Wolves Can Be Killed For Livestock Attacks
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Wolf Advocates Push Stricter Rules Before Wolves Can Be Killed For Livestock Attacks

By: Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Wolf advocates want to make it harder to legally kill reintroduced wolves and ensure ranchers first exhaust a detailed list of nonlethal hazing methods. It’s the latest in a debate between animal protection groups and hunters that is coming to a head this spring in various venues.  The Center for Biological Diversity says Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations don’t do enough to protect animals. Hunting groups want the status quo. The fight has already played out at the Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting last week when the center introduced a petition to ban the sale of commercial fur in Colorado. They’re also backing a bill to ban the killing of beavers on Colorado public lands.   The center said no...
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