Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a member organization that seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through conservation education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife. We support the North American Model of Wildlife Management (NAMWC) and hunter ethics. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a nonpartisan group of sportsmen and women who are standing up for wild places and for the outdoor opportunities they represent.
We strongly oppose HB25-1258, the Scientific Management of Wildlife bill. While the bill has “scientific management” in its title, the proposed amendments to the Parks and Wildlife Colorado Revised Statutes would undermine both the universally accepted scientific model for wildlife conservation – the NAMWC - and the Colorado wildlife professionals who implement it daily. HB25-1258 revises the statutory language that states CPW “shall” use hunting and fishing as a wildlife management tool to “may.” If this bill were to be adopted, hunting and fishing would be optional for wildlife management in Colorado. It could even be eliminated.
Science is already the basis for Colorado wildlife management and hunting and fishing are recognized as vital tools for conservation by CPW. Colorado has expressly adopted and applied the NAMWC. So has the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the organization representing all U.S. state wildlife agencies - the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. CPW states “The (NAMWC) is the cornerstone of modern wildlife conservation across the U.S.” This model includes the principles that wildlife is a public trust, science is the basis for wildlife protection, and hunting and fishing are important tools for wildlife management. The essential role that hunting and fishing play in wildlife management and conservation is embedded in the NAMWC.
However, HB25-1258 fails to recognize scientific wildlife management and conservation best practices such as NAMWC. What would replace the NAMWC if the bill is passed? HB25-1258 is silent. There is no mention as to any alternative models, consensus standards, or accepted science. Replacing a highly successful model with no alternative would be a disaster. Colorado wildlife deserve better. This is especially concerning given the NAMWC’s noted successes here in Colorado that include both game and non-game species - the recovery of the green back cutthroat, Canada lynx, black footed ferret and Shiras moose are but a few examples. These successes were largely funded from hunter and angler revenue.
HB25-1258 fails to account for the devastating financial impact on CPW and wildlife management if HB25-1258 was adopted. Colorado hunters and anglers fund more than 70 percent of CPW’s wildlife management programs through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses, habitat stamps, as well as taxes paid on hunting and fishing equipment, firearms and ammunition. Clearly the intent of the legislation is to deemphasize if not eliminate the role of hunting and fishing in Colorado wildlife management, yet the bill fails to account for any economic impact as those fees are diminished by HB25-1258. The impact could be devastating to wildlife management, conservation initiatives, and the CPW wildlife professionals that make the agency work. This is especially irresponsible given the current reported $1.2 billion shortfall in the state’s budget.
The introduction of HB25-1258 is politically tone-deaf and distracts from the larger attacks on public lands, wildlife, habitat, and wildlife professionals in the national political landscape. HB25-1258 seeks to override the recent electoral support for the NAMWC and the role of hunting as an important conservation tool seen in the defeat of Proposition 127 this last November. By ignoring the voice of Colorado voters this legislative initiative undermines faith in our democratic institutions. The CPW application of the NAMWC has done much to increase wildlife populations, improve quality habitat, and expand public land available for outdoor recreation. BHA has supported those efforts with “boots on the ground” work in support of wildlife and wild places. Yet, efforts are currently underway nationally that threaten that progress by seeking to sell off public land, imperil federal funding for wildlife and habitat, and lay off thousands of federal workers vital to managing wildlife and public lands here in Colorado. This is certainly no time for divisive and extreme measures that take focus away from these far larger threats. HB25-1258 is bad for Colorado’s wildlife. It would harm the management of our public lands and those wildlife professionals that work on its behalf.
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