Bob Broscheid, the director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), joined on Saturday to address the financial state of the agency and answer questions from listeners.
Broscheid: “Our current revenue is not going to sustain all of our programs, so we’re faced with two options: one is we can continue with more budget reductions and basically controlling our expenditures, or the other is we can look at increasing the revenue thatap coming into the agency.”
There has been pressure on Colorado Parks and Wildlife to make budget cuts, and several attempts have been made to cut budgets in the $10- to $30-million range. Decades-old infrastructure, such as dams built in the 1950s and 1960s, needs to be repaired and/or brought up to code, and hatcheries built as recently as the 1970s need to be updated and modernized if CPW is going to expand, or even continue to maintain the current amount of recreational fishing opportunities in the state.
Significant outreach is being planned to involve the outdoor public in addressing these financial issues. Decisions will need to be made on eliminating programs versus raising fees. If fees will be raised, there are questions surrounding which fees, how much they will cost and the timing of the increases. Broscheid indicated he feels it is critical the outdoor community be intimately involved in the decision-making process and every effort will be made to make the public aware of meetings and other means of public input during this process.
Broscheid: “I want folks to understand that it is no longer acceptable to just buy a hunting and fishing license anymore. There are significant threats out there and we need to come together as the true conservationists in the state of Colorado and in North America and we need to be able to tackle these challenges together.”
Broscheid then answered listener supplied questions on a number of topics, including the challenges and impacts of gill lice on providing a sustainable kokanee salmon fishery. Broscheid said significant effort is being channeled into the issue and is confident in a long-term solution, also indicating there would probably continue to be a short-term decline in kokanee fishing opportunities, but that void will attempt to be filled with other species.
Another question involved the state’s lease on . Broscheid, optimistic of a positive outcome, said CPW is currently working on a one-year extension of the current agreement and every option was being explored to provide a long-term solution and maintain Lonetree Reservoir for public recreation.
Listen to the below:
You can every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on 104.3 FM The Fan.
