October 13, 2011
Below is the recommendation submitted by CWF and the other signatories to the letter as to the composition and number of seats on the newly merged Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. (The merger was effective on July 1, 2011.) The Commission will vote on composition and number at its November 10-11 meeting and then will make its recommendation for legislation needed to effect the change (2012 legislative session). We firmly believe that the former Wildlife Commission's structure of constituent representation, coupled with at large seats, must be retained rather than moving to a structure in which all voting seats become" public at large" seats. Constituent representation helps to ensure the necessary and appropriate areas of expertise and demonstrated interest in the particular areas, while Commission members, of course, exercise independent judgment on the issues before them. Hunting and fishing regulations are very techical and often have far broader implications for wildlife management policy.
September 29, 2011
Mike King
Executive Director
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, 7th Floor
Denver, Colorado 80203
Transmitted by email to DPWPublic_Input@state.co.us
Dear Mike:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the question of Parks and Wildlife Commission
composition that was posted for public comment on September 2. In our previous comment
letter dated July 29, we had recommended an 11-member Commission plus the two existing ex
officio positions.
After listening to the Commission discussion at the September meeting, we have made an
adjustment to the recommendation presented in our letter of July 29. The adjustment is this:
reducing agricultural, outdoor recreation, and sportsmen from 3 to 2 positions, respectively, and
adding 3 at-large positions. It is important that at least 2 Sportsmen positions remain on the
Commission to ensure personal interest in hunting and fishing and adequate expertise in
complicated hunting and fishing regulatory matters. We also recommend that one of the
individuals appointed to the two Outdoor Recreationist specialist positions be an outdoor
recreationist who is a parks and trails user. Therefore, the Commission composition we
recommend is the following:
1. County Commissioner
2. Wildlife Organization (wildlife policy work re nonconsumptive issues)
3. Agriculture – produce grower
4. Agriculture – livestock producer
5. Outdoor Recreation specialist
6. Outdoor Recreation specialist
7. Sportsman
8. Sportsman
9. At Large position
10. At Large position
11. At Large position
12. Ex Officio/Non-voting member DNR –ED
13. Ex Officio/Non-voting member (Department of Agriculture)
We recommend that positions listed as 1 and 2 above be open to appointment statewide. To
maintain geographic distribution, we urge that the appointments to the Agriculture, Sportsmen
and Outdoor Recreation Specialist positions be filled with one individual from the West Slope
and one individual from the East Slope. In addition, we recommend that no more than 5
members of the 11 voting positions be registered in any one political party, providing
opportunity for some representation from the large number of unaffiliated voters in the state or
from minority parties.
You also requested comment as to the mission of the new agency. We addressed this question in
our letter of July 29. We note that the alternatives provided in the September 2 request for public
comment were made in the context of a legislative declaration. Therefore, we presume a mission
statement either will be developed that is consistent with the legislative declaration (shorter, in
an active voice), or will simply adopt the identical language of the legislative declaration.
Sincerely,
John Smeltzer Suzanne O’Neill
Board Chair Executive Director
Colorado Wildlife Federation Colorado Wildlife Federation
David Nickum
Executive Director
Colorado Trout Unlimited
Robert Ong
President
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society
John Gale
Co-Chair
Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Tim Mauck
County Commissioner, Clear Creek, and Sportsman