https://coloradosun.com/2024/0...e-commission-resign/



Opinion: My resignation from Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission should serve as a wake-up call to hunting community

Colorado’s values about wildlife are changing, and CPW commissioners need to have a more inclusive view of wildlife resources

Gary Skiba
1:30 AM MDT on Mar 20, 2024

I recently resigned from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission in the face of opposition from hunting, outfitting and livestock producer groups. The opposition to my confirmation provides an interesting look at the past and the future of wildlife management and hunting in Colorado.

The commission oversees policy for our state parks and wildlife agency and creates regulations to manage wildlife and lands. It was clear that the state Senate would not confirm my appointment by Gov. Jared Polis because of the interest groups opposing me. I concluded that pushing to the vote would do more harm than good to CPW.

I’ve been a hunter and angler all my life and a career wildlife biologist; I served the Division of Wildlife for nearly 24 years. Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife management, is one of my heroes. He was ahead of his time in understanding the ecological basis of wildlife management. Leopold was a lifelong hunter, and his views on wildlife management evolved, leading to his appreciation of all wildlife species, not just those we hunt or fish for. I share his views.


Unfortunately, some in the hunting community do not share Leopold’s views. They see little or no value in threatened and endangered species or nongame animals and believe wildlife agencies should focus all their resources on the game species that they hunt. They see hunters like me, who embrace hunting and broader values of wildlife, as insufficiently supportive of our hunting and angling heritage.

The restoration of wolves to Colorado, which I support, is another issue. Some hunters, outfitters and ranchers are adamantly opposed to wolf restoration and thus they opposed my appointment. That was a mistake, and here’s why.


Colorado values about wildlife are changing dramatically, and opposition to CPW candidates who have a more inclusive view of public wildlife resources is shortsighted and self-defeating. We all know that due to urbanization, demographic and economic factors, hunter numbers have been declining and will continue to decline. In fact, less than 6.3% of Coloradans are hunters. As a result, the influence of the hunting community is diminishing. That’s a reality, which I urge hunters and outfitters to understand, and work constructively to maintain public support for our hunting traditions.

Since my appointment by the governor in July 2023, some of my opponents have wrongly suggested that I supported an alternative wolf management plan proposed by WildEarth Guardians, when I served on CPW’s Wolf Stakeholder Advisory Group, or SAG. Those members were appointed by CPW to provide recommendations for the wolf management plan to implement wolf restoration as required by the passage of Proposition 114 in November 2020. The SAG was composed of hunters, outfitters, wolf advocates, livestock producers and others, and met over 18 months to create a consensus report to the agency.

Several SAG members opposed my confirmation, claiming I supported the alternative plan. I never supported the WildEarth Guardian plan as it undermined the CPW planning process.

In my Senate Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee confirmation hearing, I was treated rudely and disrespectfully. CPW commissioners are volunteers who contribute thousands of hours to manage and improve the state’s wildlife, state parks and outdoor recreation opportunities. Thus, the behavior of some senators was particularly outrageous.

Wildlife management requires hunting and angling as management tools, and for the recreational benefits they provide. Hunting will continue in Colorado as will attempts to restrict it. The commission must recognize those trends and rise to meet them; the hunting community should react constructively. Many hunters were so blinded by disinformation that they didn’t recognize they were attacking one of their strongest advocates. It’s also unfortunate as it creates a negative image of hunters in the minds of the public.

Hunters and anglers have lost an ally on the commission by opposing my confirmation. Without champions who can bridge the gap between hunting interests and the changing attitudes toward wildlife in Colorado, hunters will become increasingly marginalized.

On a final note, some hunting and outfitting organizations opposed my appointment due to my advocacy for wolf restoration. Based on that standard, those hunters and outfitters would oppose the appointment of Aldo Leopold himself to our CPW commission. We should give that some very hard thought.

Gary Skiba lives in Durango and was appointed to the CPW commission in July and resigned March 7.

Good ridden's.

Sounds like a deep down anti.

Calling himself a hunter.

Far to many of them have infected out DNR's

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Good ridden's.

Sounds like a deep down anti.

Calling himself a hunter.

Far to many of them have infected out DNR's

agreed!

quote:

…As a result, the influence of the hunting community is diminishing. That’s a reality, which I urge hunters and outfitters to understand, and work constructively to maintain public support for our hunting traditions.

In other words, “Piss Off!”

It’s as if he’s saying that public support for hunting will eventually disappear so get used to it.

I don't disagree. In another 20 years when all the boomers are gone (I'm one of them) this country will be unrecognizable from the one I grew up in.

quote:

Originally posted by Lee Woiteshek:
I don't disagree. In another 20 years when all the boomers are gone (I'm one of them) this country will be unrecognizable from the one I grew up in.

It damn well is now!

That's right in there saying, I see a problem but it won't happen till after I'm gone. If you see it that way, you don't have to deal with the reality of the present mayhem. Delusional.

In the current situation where wolves cannot be managed but become unchecked predators free to expand unchecked, anyone who supports that madness should be opposed at every step. Glad that he decided to withdraw his nomination.

No state needs people like this on the wildlife commission.

Colorado started losing control of its wildlife management thirty years ago to liberal state and big city government. Liberal big government, encouraging , allowing , uninformed , anti hunting, non wildlife management types to gain power within the wildlife division and control wildlife decisions. When Colorado changed the name of Colorado Division Of Wildlife to Colorado Parks and Wildlife it became another major woke moment for the state. Unfortunately Colorado has changed,the majority of the people now controlling the state of Colorado are the big city populations with the bizarre Boulder type attitudes. Didn’t the governor’s male partner or wife whatever you call him, had some social leadership role in the recent wolf introduction? Very frustrating I am sure for the very dedicated,professional, experienced wildlife managers and commissioners to see this type of erosion happening within their division and not being able to stop it.

I don’t think he gets the nuance involved in wolves.

I agree that they should be restored… but in order to restore them, you have to manage them. The management side has been the silent question. Look how long it’s taken other less progressive states to start to manage them, and even so the management is hamstrung by constant lawfare by the ARA’s.

If I had been in charge, my response would be that wolf restoration will occur starting only after a solid enforced management plan is in place and the monitoring plan was arranged.

Most knowledgeable hunters are not against nongame wildlife, but they do see that the laws around protecting them are used as weapons to attack us.

quote:

Without champions who can bridge the gap between hunting interests and the changing attitudes toward wildlife in Colorado, hunters will become increasingly marginalized.

These words will come back to haunt all those who dismiss this man's experience and opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:

quote:

Without champions who can bridge the gap between hunting interests and the changing attitudes toward wildlife in Colorado, hunters will become increasingly marginalized.

These words will come back to haunt all those who dismiss this man's experience and opinion.

I was trying to find a way to say something like this Bill. I think you are correct. We hunters ARE the minority, and at some point, the majority will simply not acknowledge us and our ways. We had better proactively bridge the gap and keep non-hunters as allies, lest they join the other side in hostility.

I got this email today from CO Parks and Wildlife. I think we need to release wolverines. WTH are they accomplishing with an equity outdoor grant board?

“ DENVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife today announced four new Outdoor Equity Grant Board members. The board, created by the passage of House Bill 21-1318, increases access to Colorado’s outdoors with investments in organizations that provide outdoor recreation, conservation education, and career opportunities through the Outdoor Equity Grant program.

We welcome the following newly appointed board members:
Ida Williams - A member impacted by and with experience in racial justice issues (4-year term)
Hilda Nucete - A member with experience working on conservation issues (4-year term)
Krystal Tran - A youth member from a community served by the grant (2-year term)
Omar Munoz - A youth member from a community served by the grant (1-year term)
Board members were selected through an open and public application process. After careful consideration, the committee selected the final candidates from about 40 applicants, and the four new board members have now been formally appointed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. “

Ken

quote:

We welcome the following newly appointed board members:
Ida Williams - A member impacted by and with experience in racial justice issues (4-year term)
Hilda Nucete - A member with experience working on conservation issues (4-year term)
Krystal Tran - A youth member from a community served by the grant (2-year term)
Omar Munoz - A youth member from a community served by the grant (1-year term)
Board members were selected through an open and public application process. After careful consideration, the committee selected the final candidates from about 40 applicants, and the four new board members have now been formally appointed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. “

I am sure they are all hard core hunters. NOT

quote:

Originally posted by KDGJ:
I got this email today from CO Parks and Wildlife. I think we need to release wolverines. WTH are they accomplishing with an equity outdoor grant board?

“ DENVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife today announced four new Outdoor Equity Grant Board members. The board, created by the passage of House Bill 21-1318, increases access to Colorado’s outdoors with investments in organizations that provide outdoor recreation, conservation education, and career opportunities through the Outdoor Equity Grant program.

We welcome the following newly appointed board members:
Ida Williams - A member impacted by and with experience in racial justice issues (4-year term)
Hilda Nucete - A member with experience working on conservation issues (4-year term)
Krystal Tran - A youth member from a community served by the grant (2-year term)
Omar Munoz - A youth member from a community served by the grant (1-year term)
Board members were selected through an open and public application process. After careful consideration, the committee selected the final candidates from about 40 applicants, and the four new board members have now been formally appointed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. “

Ken

Wolverines and grizzlies yes! Make Colorado Wild Again!

I live/hunt in Colorado. The Anti's are stacking the deck against us. No leg hold/conibear traps, intro of wolves, no hound hunting, now they propose no mountain lion hunting. One thing at a time. When they merged CO wildlife with Parks it was a big boo-boo. The front range urban voters out number us country mice.

Matt, this is what happened in Oregon. You can still hunt cougars and bears, but hound-hunting was banned by the urban voters in 1994.

im all for the wolves going back to the south and less staying in canada ...

Restoring wolverines will be their excuse to end trapping. Mark my words

Skiba wasn’t the man for the job. Good riddance. We don’t need to bridge gaps with these people because they won’t stop until we as hunters are done. We need to fight not capitulate

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
im all for the wolves going back to the south and less staying in canada ...

Send us your wolves as long as the grizzlies come with them!

MCWA (Make Colorado Wild Again)