In an effort to exercise a measure of control over popular programs designed to benefit Colorado’s wildlife through the sale of special auction and raffle licenses, the Wildlife Commission will seek statutory changes lending uniformity to the process.
Colorado allows nine conservation organizations to auction or raffle premier licenses for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain goats and moose.
Generally, these give purchasers the right to hunt anywhere in the state during an extended time period. Because of the erratic nature of enabling legislation, confusing rules currently apply to the way licenses are distributed and proceeds that run into hundreds of thousands of dollars are managed.
To bring order to the process, the commission recommends a legislative initiative that would grant each of the nine organizations 25 percent of proceeds to be used for projects benefiting wildlife or to defray expenses in the sales effort.
Under the proposal, organizations would be required to participate in a committee that meets annually to propose appropriate projects. An annual accounting of related activities also would be mandatory. Money must be spent in Colorado, a provision oddly omitted from the current legislation.
In a move designed to eliminate the potential for manipulation of the raffle process, a new rule would stipulate that a raffle license can’t be gifted to another person, excepting cases of death or incapacitation. The current limit of 25 raffle tickets per person would remain.
The wildlife agency will seek a legislative sponsor for such a bill during the 2006 General Assembly.
