Colorado Conservation Summit Executive Summary

We, the participants of the 2008 Colorado Conservation Summit, have come together because we share these fundamental beliefs about our state and natural resources:

Colorado’s wildlife is a public trust – a defining resource that is key to our Western heritage, traditions and place within the Western landscape. Wildlife-based recreation is a multi-billion dollar industry with the potential to grow in importance as resources in other portions of the world are depleted. Equally important are the intangible aesthetic and spiritual connections to our wildlife that tie us to the land and define us as a people and region.

The broad cross-section of Coloradans who have come together for this Summit understand that increasing development pressures both within our state and the surrounding region are creating an intense competition for our resources. Threats include:

With these and other factors in mind, we recognize that we must act today if our wildlife heritage is to be sustained for future generations. If we fail to act now, we will certainly leave our children a Colorado diminished by our lack of determination.

To accomplish our ambitious goals, we recognize the need for an improved public dialogue to build a constituency that supports policies and practices in the public and private sectors that are specifically designed to maintain and enhance healthy wildlife populations and habitat through 2058.

This dialogue must lead to specific actions by our elected officials and government agencies at all levels that leads to the rethinking of existing mechanisms that guide our stewardship of natural resources. These steps must be sufficient to secure both the protection and enhancement of the habitat that fish and wildlife need to survive – and the responsible management required for the long-term sustainability of our wildlife resource.

If we are to accomplish our goals, elected leaders, state and federal agency heads, private industry, agriculture, landowners, universities, wildlife conservation and environmental organizations must be equally involved—and equally committed—to a shared vision for the future of Colorado’s wildlife.

We hereby embrace our obligations as trustees of Colorado’s wildlife heritage. We resolve to continue our work beyond the Colorado Conservation Summit – to inform and engage the public and government leaders, to support promising new approaches and to advocate for decisions needed to address the complex problems threatening our most treasured natural resources.

Finally, to the citizens of Colorado and the nation: We recommit ourselves to the resolute stewardship of this priceless and irreplaceable resource, Colorado’s wildlife. We invite you to join us in this unprecedented endeavor.

Signed,

[ALL PARTICIPATING INDIVIDUALS & ORGANIZATIONS]

Signature to this document should not be interpreted as implicit agreement to any specific recommendations identified within ongoing working documents or follow-up reports.]

Name	Organization
Gary Graham	Audubon Colorado
Doris Cruze	Audubon Society of Greater Denver
Josh Pollock	Center for Native Ecosystems
Ivan James	Colorado Bowhunters Association
Dr. Walt Hecox	Colorado College
Ron Cattany	Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety
Steve S. Shuey	Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety
James Anthony	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Jay Cooper	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Jay Skinner	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Jennifer Strotman	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Jon Holst	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Kathi Green	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Lori Morgan	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Tabbi Kinion	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Thomas Nesler	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Tom Remington	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Wendy Hanophy	Colorado Division of Wildlife
Elise Jones	Colorado Environmental Coalition
Roger Tucker	Colorado Hawking Club
Wolf Brueggemann	Colorado Hawking Club
Clare Bastable	Colorado Mountain Club
Nancy Stocker	Colorado Prairie Wildlife Photo Trail
Chris Sturm	Colorado Water Conservation Board *
Robert Viehl	Colorado Water Conservation Board *
John Smeltzer	Colorado Wildlife Federation
Bill Daley	Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation
Bob Hewson	Colorado Youth Outdoors
Greg Kernahan	Ducks Unlimited *
Bill Dvorak	Dvorak Expeditions
Courtney Copeland	E.L.K.
Dwane Matthews	Environmental Learning for Kids
Hugo Valdez	Environmental Learning for Kids
Robert Hernandez	GreenWay LLC
Kate Zimmerman	National Wildlife Federation
Paul Drey	Outdoor Heritage Consulting
Laura Thomas	Prairie Preservation Alliance
Alan Heald	Quiet Use Coalition
Bob Towry	Retired Colorado Division of Wildlife
Eddie Kochman	Retired Colorado Division of Wildlife
John Mumma	Retired Director, Colorado Division of Wildlife
Gary Miller	Retired Division of Wildlife
Tom Easley	Rocky Mountain Climate Organization
Cheri Eby	Safari Club International *
John Nelson	Safari Club International *
Russ Eby	Safari Club International *
Hillary White	Sheep Mountain Alliance
Charles Bedford	The Nature Conservancy
Janice Thomson	The Wilderness Society
Suzanne Jones	The Wilderness Society
Holly Tarry	US Humane Society *
Shirley J. Casey	WildAgain Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc.
Charles Richmond	US Forest Service – Forest Supervisor, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests
Chuck Warren
Colleen Gadd
Dan Dallas	US Forest Service – Forest Supervisor, Rio Grande National Forest
David Armstrong
David Dittloff
Gene Reetz
Glen Casamassa	US Forest Service – Forest Supervisor,  Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland