2 weeks Ago
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioners Jessica Beaulieu, who was confirmed to her position by the skin of her teeth, and Jack Murphy likely violated open meetings laws and paid no mind to the rules of communication set forth for CPW Commissioners by speaking out in favor of a proposed mountain lion hunting ban in Prop 127. There has been precious little discussion about any disciplinary action against the two and I don’t expect any, as disheartening as that is. It has mostly been shrugging and looking around the room and mumbling about free speech.
What is preventing the remaining current Commissioners from voicing their opinions in the media about potentially forgoing science-based management with a positive track record in favor of ballot box Biology? What is preventing the current Commissioners from supporting the mountain lion management plan currently before them, the 125-years of science-based wildlife management, and the thousands of CPW employees who depend upon them to make decisions with the agency’s mission in mind? They’re not speaking out because flippantly disregarding rules and expectations is below their appointment. They’re not speaking out because they believe in the agency, its mission, and its people. They’re not speaking out because they’re likely suspicious that the Governor’s office won’t fall on any swords protecting their First Amendment rights.
They were raised right. Last week, 24 past CPW Commissioners did release a letter urging voters to reject the mountain lion, bobcat, and lynx hunting ban. They point out, lest we forget, that the proposal was soundly rejected multiple times by the CPW Commission, including with Polis-appointed commissioners at the table.
They point out a legislative ban on lion hunting was rejected by the state’s General Assembly. It’s funny how quickly bad ideas can be ushered out the door when stakeholders are allowed to present both sides with expertise rather than through marketing that depends not on voters’ ability to think, but their likelihood to be sympathetic to causes involving photogenic animals. The court of opinion and the court of biological opinion have handed down their rulings, kids.
One of the former commissioners who signed the letter, Gaspar Perricone, said proposition 127 puts a question to the voters that does not spawn from the perspective of best available science or a holistic wildlife management approach, but rather is being driven by special interests and an attempt to manage wildlife in a vacuum. There are over 900 species in the state and managing one or two with no regard or consideration of how they interact and depend upon the other 900 isn’t management. In Colorado, we have seen the unintended consequences of tying the hands of wildlife biologists with a cord woven of ballot box bull, out of state money, and well-funded special interest groups and activists.
One of the most stunning of those consequences has been the refusal of private property owners to allow CPW to continue to access their land for the studies that, over the past 125 years, have allowed for sustainable populations and notable recoveries, including lynx. In addition to encountering locked gates and eroded confidence, CPW would also take a hit to their pocketbook with the severing of income streams that are typically reinvested in management and various studies. Additionally, rural communities that count on dollars spent by hunters, outfitters, outdoorsmen, and others will be handed another pay cut.
This pits rural Colorado against the thin blue strip in the sea of red. Again. Socially, the unintended – or perhaps quite intentional – consequences are copious.
Top of mind is the wildlife biologist who has invested in his or her education and career to manage wildlife according to both good science and good sense. What a gut punch to no longer see lions harvested and put to good use and benefit, but instead be tasked with all management. When lions no longer experiencing hunting pressure wander into conflicts with people, pets, and livestock, it is the biologist who has spent a lifetime honing their knowledge to manage and conserve lions, who will be summoned to kill the lion and throw him in a landfill.
Conjuring the images of onlookers with cell phone cameras documenting the task and heading to social media to feign outrage about the mean wildlife staff makes my stomach lurch. Just as with the wolf release, if this were to pass, CPW would again be handed a crap sandwich and expected to eat every crumb. CPW staff currently has invested untold man hours in the mountain lion management plan currently before the Commission.
Not only is it impossible to plan knowing the whim of the voters may turn the tide entirely, but witnessing current commissioners discounting your work and the North American model that is the sturdy ground beneath the biologists, must be the stuff of nightmares. There are very real and complex issues that voters and proponents haven’t dedicated their lives to understanding. Handing this ban to CPW staff and the 900 species in the state is reckless.
Rachel Gabel is a longtime agriculture writer and the assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine..
