You’ll Now Need a Hunting or Fishing License to Access State

[Jeremy Hakes]

You’ll Now Need a Hunting or Fishing License to Access State Wildlife Areas

https://www.5280.com/2020/06/youll-now-need-a-hunting-or-fishing-license-to-access-state-wildlife-areas/?utm_campaign=The%20Local&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=89759095&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uOxvzxUNs_xep7jls1erVeXT1wx58qz61cCNJAMSPh6fxxJUGMKmSphwAQn4lBS5jMoTcOy3yWm10Wo2EUmwIbKrGkg&utm_content=89759095&utm_source=hs_email

[Tom Pierce]

Hey Jeremy,

I was aware of this. Fwiw, it's creating a bit of a stir in rafting/kayaking circles, turns out the super popular Loma boat ramp for put-ins on the Colorado River (Ruby/Horsethief Canyon) sits on a wildlife area so the state will eventually be requiring everyone to have a license to use the boat ramp. It's a bit galling. I've been to Loma before and I'm hard pressed to think of it as a wildlife area, it's just a pretty barren and dusty parking lot for boaters, just down 70 from Grand Junction. The perception in the boating community is that this is just a money grab to impose fees on people who aren't using the wildlife area (e.g. hunters or fishermen/women), they're just parking a car and putting in for a take out down river in Westwater, UT. And many cars are only there for a few hours because they're shuttled to Westwater. Frustrating.

And yeah, heads up to hikers who go into such areas, although I wonder how effectively this can be enforced.

-Tom

[JoeGrim]

Disappointing, since they're tax-payer funded.

[CandaceS]

CPW says they are not tax-funded:

“We’re not a tax-funded agency,” says Travis Duncan, CPW’s public information officer. The agency is primarily funded by the sale of passes on the parks side and hunting/fishing licenses on the wildlife side. Federal funding for wildlife purposes comes from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, but how much CPW receives is based on the number of hunting/fishing licenses sold in Colorado.

Given the number of these SWA's (350), seems like this might impact hiking access to at least a few peaks!

For one thing, the road up to the TH for 14er Lindsey Peak crosses through the Huerfano SWA. And the road up to Hermit Pass from Westcliffe passes through Middle Taylor Creek SWA. I'm sure there are more examples.

Unless simply driving through without stopping is an exception? The article doesn't explicitly address that.

[JoeGrim]

“We’re not a tax-funded agency,” says Travis Duncan, CPW’s public information officer. The agency is primarily funded by the sale of passes on the parks side and hunting/fishing licenses on the wildlife side. Federal funding for wildlife purposes comes from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, but how much CPW receives is based on the number of hunting/fishing licenses sold in Colorado.

Here is CPW's own accounting for its funding, from their own website, under "Wildlife Revenue": https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Funding.aspx

19% is from Federal and State Grants, most of which are tax-payer funded
7% is from Great Outdoors Colorado, which is funded by taxes on lotteries and gambling

Even in the CPW quote above "Federal funding for wildlife purposes comes from excise taxes on firearms, ..." it mentions that the federal funding comes from excise taxes.

So, although most of SWA areas are not funded by taxes, roughly a quarter is.

[Jeremy Hakes]

Looks like it is going to court:

https://coloradosun.com/2020/08/06/colorado-hunting-fishing-license-rule-public-lands-opposition/?utm_source=The+Colorado+Sun&utm_campaign=fdcd28da61-Sun-Up&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2e5f9a0f1b-fdcd28da61-57522921&mc_cid=fdcd28da61&mc_eid=d98a2758cf