A proposal to merge the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks into a single entity overcame its first hurdle Thursday when the Agriculture Committee voted unanimously to advance the measure to the full Senate.
Co-sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, Senate Bill 208 passed despite opposing testimony from multiple sportsmen’s groups such as the Colorado Wildlife Federation and Colorado Trout Unlimited.
Some former DOW employees raised concerns over the timing of the merger, requesting the bill be withdrawn until further study is conducted to pinpoint budget efficiencies promised by its architects and supporters, notably Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“The speed at which this merger is being implemented is mind-boggling,” retired DOW director Bruce McCloskey told the commission. “Based on my experience with numerous reorganizations, those that move too quickly go the slowest.”
Proponents countered that the plan to unite the two agencies as the State Parks and Wildlife Agency under the Department of Natural Resources umbrella is inherently sound, providing a streamlined operation that will only improve as details emerge over the next year.
“It really is a matter of style, and we felt a bold move kicking this off was the right way to do it, rather than sitting around and having a talk for a year while daylight is wasting and the budget is sliding in the wrong direction,” DNR director Mike King said.
Currently, DOW is more than twice the size of the fiscally struggling State Parks division in terms of both budget and personnel. If approved, the measure will temporarily merge the existing nine-member Wildlife Commission with the five-member State Parks Board and create a new director position overseeing the agency.
A second bill detailing the structure of the new agency is expected to come before the legislature in 2012.
In addition to the rapid pace of the legislation, the bill’s adversaries repeated concerns over potential diversion of wildlife funds and a failed merger of the two agencies that dissolved after nine years in 1972.
“They’re right. We should learn from what’s been done in the past. Not only that, but we need to reach out to other states that have this model and ask what worked, what didn’t and what would you do differently next time,” King said.
“We’ve laid out a framework where the public involvement will now kick in in earnest.”
