The latest word on HB 235, the bill that would have renewed Colorado’s Habitat Stamp: Wait until next year.
In an eleventh-hour maneuver Wednesday, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted to delay a vote on the bill until the 2010 session of the Colorado legislature, a move designed to work out concerns over the measure while ostensibly resolving conflicts among the state’s sportsman and agriculture communities.
An amendment by Rep. Cory Gardner mandating the delay gained unanimous approval. It also stipulated that a joint House and Senate session of the committee would be convened prior to June 1, 2010.
The Habitat Stamp, which collects funds as an attachment to Colorado hunting and fishing licenses, is scheduled to expire in 2010 unless it is renewed. This latest maneuver allows time for renewal prior to the expiration date. In its current form, the bill would allow the Colorado Division of Wildlife to spend stamp revenues for both the purchase and lease of hunting and fishing properties, with an emphasis on conservation.
Stamp fees will continue to be collected over the next year until the legislative issues are resolved.
Conservation hero.
Todd Fehr, a member of the Denver Chapter of Trout Unlimited, has been named a Hero of Conservation by Field & Stream magazine for his work on the project to clean up the South Platte River where it flows through Denver.
Fehr, who serves as the chapter’s vice president, will be honored in the publication’s June issue.
“I have heard a lot of discussion over the past few years about how do we get tomorrow’s anglers involved. My solution was to bring the fishing to them,” Fehr said.
Fehr will receive a grant of $1,000 in conjunction with the award.
