The system by which wildlife matters are digested and regurgitated in the Colorado General Assembly is broken. Whether it can be fixed will depend largely upon the resolve of a governor and other politicians who achieved their lofty status in large part by the ballots of rank-and-file sportsmen.
Among the many and enduring troubles that afflict a system by which wildlife and outdoor recreation are sacrificed to the various gods of commerce, one stands out. It is the arrangement that filters all wildlife matters through the twin committees called Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy. In political circles, it’s simply called the Ag Committee, in tacit recognition of the people who run it and where the clout lies.
Simply put, all legislative matters involving hunting, fishing and wildlife are processed through a committee whose chairman invariably is a farmer or rancher. Historically, this composition has not been kind to sportsmen. Often, things get downright ugly.
For Exhibit A, we have current House Bill 1137, a mean-spirited document that hamstrings the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s efforts to acquire land for recreation or wildlife habitat or water for aquatic resource protection.
Introduced by Jerry Sonnenberg in the House and Greg Brophy in the Senate, the measure would require DOW to surrender the equivalent of any new land or water it acquires before any purchase is made. The bill also would require the wildlife agency to pay fees to local governments. It is no coincidence that Brophy and Sonnenberg are farmers.
For all its flaws, the bill serves one purpose. It vividly illustrates the antipathy toward wildlife that endures on these bookend committees in the state Senate and House. The cast of characters changes every few years, but the motives and attitudes endure. It might be argued that certain individuals with this mind-set actually campaign for an Ag Committee appointment just so they can get their licks in.
This state of affairs has another, equally perfidious consequence. In their continuing meanness and vindictiveness, these wildlife haters promote an atmosphere of fear among DOW personnel who fear retribution should they cross them.
Thus we have the scenario from 10 days ago when yet another onerous wildlife measure, SB035, had its hearing in the Senate Ag Committee. Introduced by Sen. Jack Taylor of Steamboat Springs, a practiced DOW bully, it would extend by three years a pilot program that provides extra licenses for landowners in Units 1 and 10 in extreme northwest Colorado, tags that might sell for as much as $15,000. Not incidentally, Sonnenberg is the House sponsor.
In his role as legislative lackey for T. Wright Dickinson and other influential local landowners, Taylor effectively usurps a prerogative of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, which carries the duty and expertise to decide such matters.
DOW — the agency that ultimately must administer this nonsense — remained fearfully mum on the matter. It remained for representatives of sportsmen’s organizations and other public advocates to speak against it.
Presumably, DOW will muster the courage to actively oppose HB 1137 in the way that a desperate man might try to avoid having his head cut off.
This punitive measure, classic of the malice the Ag Committee often visits on the wildlife agency, comes at a time when an exploding population coupled with rampant land development suggests DOW needs considerably more land as a buffer against growth.
Certainly that was the feeling among license buyers who supported the passage of a habitat stamp measure designed expressly to acquire more land for recreation and resource protection. Now, with this extra money coming in, curmudgeons such as Brophy and Sonnenberg would preclude the citizenry from realizing the intended benefit.
Should this nonsense eventually survive scrutiny of the full assembly, presumably it would be vetoed by Gov. Bill Ritter. But the mere fact that such a bill exists speaks volumes about the cockamamie way Colorado’s wildlife affairs are conducted.
In a companion article, we will explore what might be done to at least partially correct this.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
