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Amendment 83 would enshrine Colorado hunting and fishing after 17 attempts to change the law
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Amendment 83 would enshrine Colorado hunting and fishing after 17 attempts to change the law

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com The Common Sense Institute (CSI) just published an analysis of the economic impact of hunting and fishing in Colorado, to help inform debate on a November ballot measure called Amendment 83. It would enshrine in the state constitution the right of the people to hunt and fish. As one of the report’s co-authors, I attended a forum where we were asked, “Why not just eliminate hunting and fishing and let nature take over?” Many Coloradans may not fully understand what the absence of hunting and fishing might look like. It is a scenario they do not want. Amendment 83 appears simply to restate existing laws and processes. It would amend the Colorado constitution to make hunting and fishing a right for Colorado’s 874,000 fishing licen...
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When Conditions Change, Should Wildlife Management Change Too?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

When Conditions Change, Should Wildlife Management Change Too?

By Naomi Riess | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice We have all heard the saying: A fed bear is a dead bear. This year, Colorado is seeing what happens when nature runs short of food. In Southwest Colorado, drought and a late-spring freeze have severely reduced natural bear foods. Statewide, CPW has reported 8,672 bear-related sightings and incidents through August, 3.6 times the five-year average. Relocations are running 3.5 times the average and euthanizations 2.7 times the average. A Durango bear was recently euthanized after being found in poor condition. A necropsy found its stomach and upper intestine completely blocked with trash. The bear was essentially starving to death. We need to keep people from attracting bears. CPW worked with our local representative and...
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Right to hunt: The strange branding of Colorado’s sensible-conservation group
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The Outdoor Wire, Approved, Commentary, State

Right to hunt: The strange branding of Colorado’s sensible-conservation group

By Chris Dorsey | Commentary, The Outdoor Wire Modern politics has a gift for parodying itself, but even by Colorado standards, this one is hard to improve upon: the campaign warning voters against a constitutional right to hunt and fish has found itself with a hunter delivering the message. Enter Eric Washburn, president of the newly formed Colorado Hunters and Anglers for Sensible Wildlife Conservation, who has come forward to explain why hunters should be alarmed by the prospect of protecting hunting. Washburn says he hunts big game, holds multiple Colorado licenses, and has hunted waterfowl. Fine. Nobody needs to inspect his freezer. The interesting question isn't whether Eric Washburn hunts; it's how a professional public-affairs consultant with a long record of advocating w...
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Amendment 83 Seeks Constitutional Protection for Colorado Hunting and Fishing
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KJCT-TV ABC 8, Approved, State

Amendment 83 Seeks Constitutional Protection for Colorado Hunting and Fishing

By Brianna Chappie | KJCT The proposed amendment has surpassed the signature threshold, setting up a November vote over a potential enshrining of hunting and fishing rights for Coloradans. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - A hunting and fishing conservation group celebrated a big victory recently after gathering enough signatures to add a new amendment onto the upcoming Nov. 3 ballot. On Sept. 4, the ‘Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment’ surpassed the 124,238 signatures required to be added onto the ballot. The amendment was introduced by the organization, The International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR). “It’s an organization that’s been around since 1975,” said IOTR CEO Luke Hilgemann. “We exist to protect hunting, fishing and what we believe are the fundamental fre...
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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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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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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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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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Hunters and Anglers Rally Behind Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Hunters and Anglers Rally Behind Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish

By Chris Dorsey | The Denver Gazette For generations, Coloradans hunted elk, caught trout and managed wildlife without consulting a constitutional attorney. That was before wildlife management became a recurring statewide election issue, replete with consultants, national pressure groups and enough political mail to denude an aspen grove.   Now comes Initiative 302, the proposed “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” driven by sportsmen who have concluded that activities legal today may require constitutional protection to remain legal tomorrow. Supporters submitted more than 180,000 signatures on July 8, well above the 124,238 valid signatures required. The secretary of state has until Sept. 2 to verify them. Nothing says “settled Colorado tradition” quite li...
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Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics   A yearling male wolf in Grand County has become the 17th wolf to die in Colorado in the past two years. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that its staff killed the wolf on Aug. 4 because it was believed to be responsible for killing four calves in Jackson and Grand counties between June 29 and Aug. 1. The state agency’s announcement said the producers had pursued nonlethal measures to minimize conflict with the wolf. Ranchers have told Colorado Politics that those minimization efforts are ineffective. The wolf killed on Tuesday is the second mortality in 10 days. Another wolf had been found dead in northwest Colorado, according to a CPW announcement, but no further details were made available. READ THE FUL...
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