DENVER—A member of the Colorado State Parks Board has resigned, saying she’s concerned about the effects of a proposed merger of the state wildlife and parks agencies.
The Denver Post reports that Lauri Matthews announced her resignation Friday.
Matthews was the director of State Parks from 1991 to 2001. She said in her letter resigning from the board that she has “grave concerns” about combining parks with the state Division of Wildlife.
Gov. John Hickenlooper has proposed merging the agencies to save $3 million to $4 million a year.
But Matthews says she’s concerned about the amount of work involved in such a merger and believes the focus on parks will be diminished.
Parks Director Dean Winstanley says Matthews’ experience and strong advocacy for state parks will be missed.
