CWCP Alliance letters

Letter to Colorado voters regarding Proposition 127

The undersigned organizations, representing thousands of hunters, trappers, and other wildlife conservationists who are proud of being America’s original conservationists, write to express our strong opposition to Proposition 127. This political effort mischaracterizes the legal, regulated harvest of mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado as trophy hunting and would prohibit these activities in the state. The intentionally misleading manner proponents of Proposition 127 seek to undermine the professional wildlife managers employed by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department is a real issue. The experts at CPW, using the best available science, work tirelessly to manage and conserve Colorado’s public trust fish and wildlife resources.

Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project position statement opposing Colorado Proposition 127

CWCP supports healthy, state-wide mountain lion and bobcat populations using sustainable, regulated hunting as the primary tool to achieve those goals. Extensive laws already in place ensure the legal and ethical harvest of Colorado’s wildlife. We encourage all Coloradans who care about wildlife to unite in opposition to the Proposition 127 hunting ban because it is not in the best interest of Colorado’s wildlife. It threatens conservation, wildlife populations, Colorado traditions, and science-based wildlife management.

Colorado’s mountain lion and bobcat populations are thriving. Our mountain lion population has flourished since 1965, when they were classified as a big game species. Similarly, bobcats are the most prevalent wild cat in the state, and populations are robust. Managing mountain lions and bobcats to secure their coexistence in Colorado is crucial to their survival. Lynx are already protected by both state and federal law, with hunting and trapping prohibited. Wildlife in Colorado are managed sustainably, in delicate balance with their habitats and other wildlife species. Many Colorado wildlife species, including mountain lions and bobcats, were once rare or threatened with extinction. Today, their populations are abundant due to science-based wildlife management and regulated hunting with extensive requirements for using ethical harvest methods.

Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project support for the recommended Big Game License reductions

We, the undersigned organizations, write to you on behalf of tens-of-thousands of Colorado hunters, anglers, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts. We do so to respectfully express our support for the recommended Big Game License reductions based on recently published data by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). We believe this is in the best interest of wildlife conservation in Colorado for the present and future. We wholeheartedly support the agency’s recommendations on license reductions, and believe we have an alarming emergency–particularly in the northwest region – as it relates to the long-term sustainability of our ungulate herds. With wildlife conservation as our top priority, we believe that additional license cuts could be necessary to restore populations to levels that would support historical hunter opportunity. That being said, there are a number of considerations we believe the commission should immediately take into account.

Support for the Draft Colorado Wolf Restoration Plan, with Requests for Additional Action by the Parks and Wildlife Commission and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (February 2023)

The CWCP organizations represented herein believe CPW’s draft Wolf Restoration and Management Plan will result in a self-sustaining, recovered population of wolves in Colorado. After on-the-ground data accumulate and wolves are recovered (according to draft Plan Chapter 4, Table 2), CPW and the Commission should discuss the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the American System of Conservation Funding before developing long-term wolf management strategies and data-driven phase 3 and 4 management plans. In the meantime, funding is urgently needed to address current gaps and needs; monitor and track wolf introduction impacts on other wildlife populations; measure social outcomes using good baseline information; and enable a successful wolf restoration and management program.

Letter Calling on the USFS to Require Event Permit for Rainbow Family Gathering (June 2022)

We, the undersigned organizations, write to you on behalf of tens-of-thousands of Colorado
residents, conservationists, sportspersons, and outdoor enthusiasts to share our deep concerns about the Rainbow Family Gathering scheduled to occur July 1st through July 7th in Routt National Forest in north Routt County. We request that the US Forest Service require the Rainbow Family Gathering to properly apply for and secure an event permit prior to assembling or employ appropriate enforcement to prohibit the event from occurring

Letter in Opposition to Senate Bill 031 - Prohibit Hunting Bobcat Lynx And Mountain Lion (January 2022)

The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project joined forces to defeat SB22-031 in its inaugural effort.  CWCP alliance members authored this letter to members of the Colorado General Assembly, Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the Governor's Office. 

Letter in Support of House Bill 22-1168, Public School Hunter Education Seventh Grade Course (2022)

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) Hunter Education Program has had profound success in the reduction of hunting-related fatalities and accidents since its mandatory implementation in 1970. Since implementation of the program, over 900,000 students have been certified through the educational course and subsequently non-fatal incidents have dropped to a historic low – averaging only four incidents per year.

Letter on House Bill 22-1104, Power Line Trails (February 2022)

Biologists are increasingly concerned about the impact of recreation on wildlife and wildlife habitat. These issues are particularly acute for threatened and endangered species and for migratory species that require large unfragmented habitat, such as deer and elk. Extensive scientific research shows how important intact and connected landscapes are to sustaining healthy wildlife populations and demonstrates how sensitive many species are to trail related human disturbances. Recreational trail activities can create disturbances that alter wildlife behavior and results in the avoidance of habitat of over 1000 meters from trail systems in some cases. This compression and fragmentation of available habitat is a form of habitat loss that has led to precipitous declines in reproductive success rates and population numbers of several of our elk herds in Colorado

Letter in Support of House Bill 22-1072, Habitat Partnership Program Reauthorization.

Sportspersons and landowners alike regard the Habitat Partnership Program (HPP) as one of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) most successful programs. The program has been effective in reducing conflicts between landowners and wildlife and provides a mutually beneficial arrangement whereby CPW provides landowners with financial, technical, and material needs to minimize and mitigate impacts from wildlife.

Support for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) budget request for FY 2022-23 and supplemental budget requests for FY 2021-22

Our organizations collectively represent tens of thousands of Colorado hunters, anglers, conservationists, and outdoor enthusiasts who share a deep connection to Colorado’s wild landscapes and wildlife. As noted in the Governor’s January 3rd letter to the Joint Budget Committee “hunting, fishing, and watchable wildlife contribute $5 billion in economic output in Colorado each year and support 40,000 jobs across the state.” Wildlife-based recreation also benefits individuals’ health and is an important part of our outdoor culture. Our members recognize the urgent need to protect and sustain Colorado’s wildlife so that future generations can enjoy quality hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing opportunities. As such, we respectfully ask that you support and prioritize the budget requests listed below:

Letter of Support for Senate Bill 22-151, Safe Crossings For Colorado Wildlife And Motorists

Human development and roads overlap with critical fish and wildlife habitat and bisect important migration routes for numerous wildlife species in Colorado, including our iconic mule deer and elk herds. Every year there are around 14,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions in Colorado, resulting in human injuries and fatalities, and approximately $80 million in property damage, emergency response, medical treatments, and other costs annually.1 Furthermore, wildlife-vehicle collisions kill 2% of Colorado’s big game populations, including 9,000 mule deer every year on Colorado roadways.2 The Highway 9 wildlife crossing project has been a great success, reducing wildlife- vehicle collisions there by 90% and demonstrating how effective these kinds of projects can be.

Letter of Support for Senate Bill 22-169, Sensitive Species Data and Public Records

Our organizations support Fair Chase principles in hunting, which are defined by Boone and Crockett club as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the game animals.”3 Senate Bill 169 is important for protecting wildlife and Fair Chase principles in Colorado, as it would prevent members of the public from demanding GPS collar data via CORA request and using that data advantage unfairly to pattern specific animals’ movements and predict where they might find an animal or group of animals in the wild.

Letter of Support for Colorado Wild Horse Management Actions

Free-roaming horses and burros are nonnative, feral species that significantly impact rangeland health, affecting native ecosystems and wildlife habitat. Currently, free-roaming horse populations exceed the BLM’s Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs). This, coupled with the fact that wildlife habitat quality is in decline across many areas in the West due to a variety of other factors, has caused iconic western wildlife species, such as bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, greater sage grouse, and others to be negatively impacted or imperiled.