DENVER – The
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission recently adopted a rule change,
requiring all visitors 18 or older to possess a valid hunting or
fishing license to access any State Wildlife Area or State Trust Land
leased by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This new rule will be in effect
beginning July 1, 2020.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages over 350 State Wildlife Areas and
holds leases on nearly 240 State Trust Lands in Colorado, which are
funded through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses,” said
Southeast Regional Manager Brett Ackerman. “The purpose of these
properties is to conserve and improve wildlife habitat, and provide
access to wildlife-related recreation like hunting and fishing that are
a deep part of Colorado’s conservation legacy.”
Because these properties have always been open to the public, not just
to the hunters and anglers that purchased them and pay for their
maintenance, many people visit these properties and use them as they
would any other public land. As Colorado’s population - and desire for
outdoor recreation - has continued to grow, a significant increase in
traffic to these SWAs and STLs has disrupted wildlife, the habitat the
areas were acquired to protect, and the hunters and anglers whose
contributions were critical to acquiring these properties.
Because funding for these properties is specifically generated by
hunting and fishing license sales and the resulting federal match,
requested options such as “hiking licenses” or “conservation permits”
would not allow for the maintenance and management needed. Any funding
from one of these conceptual licenses or permits would reduce the
federal grant dollar for dollar and thus fail to increase CPW’s ability
to protect and manage the properties.
“This new rule change will help our agency begin to address some of the
unintended uses we’re seeing at many of our State Wildlife Areas and
State Trust Lands,” said CPW Director Dan Prenzlow. "We have seen
so much more non-wildlife related use of these properties that we need
to bring it back to the intended use - conservation and protection of
wildlife and their habitat."
“We do anticipate some confusion based on how the properties are
funded, and the high amount of unintended use over time in these areas.
We plan to spend a good amount of time educating the public on this
change,” said Ackerman. “But in its simplest form, it is just as any
other user-funded access works. You cannot use a fishing license to
enter a state park, because the park is not purchased and developed
specifically for fishing. Similarly, you cannot use a park pass to
enter lands that are intended for the sole purpose of wildlife
conservation, because a park pass is designed to pay for parks.” State
law requires that the agency keep these funding sources separated.
CPW is a user-funded agency and, unlike most government agencies,
receives very little money from the general fund. The new rule requires
all users to contribute to the source of funding that makes the
acquisition and maintenance of these properties possible. But the
activities that interfere with wildlife-related uses or that negatively
impact wildlife habitat don't become acceptable just because an
individual possesses a hunting or fishing license. Each SWA and STL is
unique and only certain activities are compatible with each property.
Many questions on the new rule are answered through our State Wildlife Area Frequently Asked Questions
document. Visit cpw.state.co.us for additional
information on agency projects and funding.
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