Thursday’s Colorado Wildlife Commission workshop at the Western State College campus in Gunnison may seem far from the state’s population centers. But it will be no more than an arm’s length from anyone with access to a functional computer.
Proceedings of this and all subsequent commission meetings will be transmitted through a new audio arrangement on the Colorado Division of Wildlife website. Interested parties need only tune in and listen in real time to track the way the policy body deals with the concerns of the day.
“This technology will help get people involved in issues pertaining to their wildlife,” said Tom Remington, DOW director.
Patterned after a program used by the Colorado legislature, the network allows wildlife enthusiasts to listen in on meetings that periodically rotate to the far corners of the state.
Always a time saver, the computer convenience becomes more profound when one considers the escalating price of gasoline.
To participate, log on to the DOW website, go to the Wildlife Commission link, then click on the “listen to audio” selection. Windows Media Player is required to use the system, along with either headphones or a speaker system.
That done, the user will hear a play- by-play of all presentations and discussions by the policy body. The exchange should prove particularly valuable in situations such as the upcoming July meeting in Durango, where the commission must make a final decision on sweeping duck-hunting regulation changes along the South Platte River northeast of Denver.
Waterfowl enthusiasts have complained about having this vital gathering so far from the geographic area of interest, a pure happenstance considering that meeting sites are chosen as much as a year in advance.
Granted that listening to a streaming audio isn’t the same as being there, but it does allow us to understand how such vital decisions are made.
To that end, the wildlife agency will take additional steps to make it easier for listeners to track the action. Added measures will be taken to identify speakers and issues to assist in tracking the dialogue.
“The director has published guidelines to remind speakers that we now are streaming audio to the Internet, things like speaking directly into the microphone and to be aware of sidebar conversations,” said Larry Kelley, DOW’s senior engineer in charge of voice-over Internet protocol.
Kelley noted the system isn’t immune to technical problems.
“We’re using the public Internet to send the audio to our server in Denver and those connections sometimes can be unreliable, wherever we are.”
One can imagine a not-so-distant time when advancing technology, such as video phones, will allow far- away participants to appear directly on screen before the commission. Live telecasts of commission meetings, such as on C-SPAN, should be closer still.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
“Rivers of Recovery”
A program to provide fishing- based therapy for disabled veterans and their families will launch Friday on the Green River below Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Called “Rivers of Recovery,” the program was initiated by Salida resident Dan Cook, who personally will fund an activity that will continue over the next three weekends in June. Cook said his endeavor is open to veterans with every type of disability from all military eras. It features three nights on the river around two days of fishing.
Veteran Green River guide Terry Collier, who operates Old Moe Guide Service in Dutch John, Utah, will direct the river activities.
Cook has established a website — — to help solicit funding for a program he hopes to expand dramatically in 2009. He may be contacted at 303-801-8022.
