Ballot Box Wildlife Management – NOT GOOD!
In our over 30 years of wildlife management in Colorado we have witnessed some very detrimental wildlife practices which came about by inviting the public to vote on these issues. This is NOT the way to manage wildlife because it is not the area of expertise of most citizens. When it is promoted as an emotional issue instead of being left to the wildlife management professionals, disasters occur. Most of these Ballot Initiatives that have become laws on the books have often turned out to be LESS HUMANE than what was in place before they were voted on. That's because those who promote such Ballot Initiatives are unfortunately not always fully informed on the full or long-term ramifications of what they are proposing which include negative effects on their fellow citizens, wildlife professionals, the rural community or even...detrimental to THEWILDLIFE THEMSELVES!!!
Decline To Sign Petition
If you're asked to sign a petition to support inclusion of a Ballot Initiative regarding a
Wildlife Management
issue on an upcoming ballot, we respectfully ask
you to...
*decline signing the petition. Ifthe promoters do not get enough VALID signatures, it will not appear on the ballot;
*ask your family, friends, everyone you know not to sign such petitions in an attempt to keep these things off of our ballots.
Please!...
Speak Out
Our communities often offer public and other meetings of citizens where it is appropriate to stand up and say something. There are usually ways to find out the facts in order to relay them in an appropriately respectful manner to other citizens. Be on the lookout for such opportunities in your community and get yourself on those agendas.
Also ask your family, friends and everyone you know to get active and also speak out and vote against such measures.
Vote!
If a Ballot Initiative involving
Wildlife Management
makes it to your ballot, please do not pass up the
opportunity and privilege
we have to
VOTE
and then help to discourage such abuse of our ballots and Professional Wildlife Management practices and...
VOTE NO!
Wildlife Reintroductions
Many do not know that often the wildlife reintroductions are actually LAND GRABS! That's because when animals are released into territory they have not been currently inhabiting, then corridors of land are designated for them to roam and reproduce. This designation prevents human use of that land – often public land that is property belonging to every U.S. Citizen whose public use rights are then subsequently infringed upon. If the animals were either not in or had moved out of a certain area, they probably had a reason so let's leave them to their own choices, eh? Also, wildlife reintroductions are often harmful to the people occupying the nearby land. Predator reintroductions (such as the recent wolf reintroduction in Colorado) are having disastrous effects on cattle and sheep ranchers. One lost calf, cow, lamb or full-grown sheep is a loss of more than that one animal – it's a loss of the future offspring that animal would have produced. If you think it's not about you, then do not be surprised when your grocery store prices go up because of it. And if you think baby deer, elk and big horn sheep that we have in Colorado are precious to observe, do not be surprised if you do not see them much anymore because they've been eaten when most vulnerable during birth and infancy by reintroduced predators!
Current Wildlife Related Ballot Initiatives - if any
Since we're located in Colorado, what we know best is what's going on here. But those who are well-informed watch what goes on here because Colorado is one of those states which is an indication of things to come in other states. Another way to look at it is...if something is DEFEATED in Colorado, perhaps it will not ripple out to other states.
The last initiative on the ballot was in November 2024 trying to ELIMINATE Mountain Lion, Bobcat and Lynx harvest in Colorado. This was a direct assault on Professional Wildlife Management in this state and, if passed, would have easily devolved into the future OUTLAWING OF ALL HUNTING OF ANY KIND IN COLORADO – a DISASTER. The proponents of such ballot initiatives seek to deprive Colorado's Wildlife Managers and the sporting community nationwide of their rights to manage, pursue and harvest these well-regulated species. They even tried to use the term "Trophy Hunting" (which is NOT what this was really about ) in the advertising effort to manipulate and misinform prospective voters as to what this was about and it was an ATTEMPT AT EMOTIONAL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT as mentioned at the top of this page...NOT GOOD!
We are happy to report that this ballot initiative DID NOT PASS. But more such uninformed bad news measures are likely to crop up in the future until the message gets across that, as we've said above and in our brochures...BALLOT BOX WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT is NOT GOOD! Proponents of such measures need to CUT IT OUT!
The Wolf Reintroduction program voted into being in November of 2020 is in various stages of flux. Currently Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has discontinued any further reintroductions – HALLELUJAH!
So – there are no wildlife management related Ballot Initiatives looming in Colorado at the moment but we'll update this page should yet another one crop up.