The hunting and angling community is extremely frustrated with the state of our wildlife agency — Colorado Parks and Wildlife. More specifically, we are frustrated with the schedule and timing of upcoming commission meetings.

The upcoming commission meeting is going to be held on Nov. 16-17 and our 11 member CPW commission is tasked with dealing with some enormously consequential agenda items at this meeting — including license allocation, a draft wolf plan to implement prop. 114 and more. All of these hot-topic agenda items stand to affect sportsmen and women in big ways. And, the public should have a chance to be engaged in these conversations. Here are some unfortunate realities which seem to indirectly prevent sportsmen and women participation:

-Why is it that the November commission meeting is scheduled in the middle of the third rifle elk/deer season? Outfitters and hunters alike will be largely excluded because of the timing.

-Why is the meeting scheduled in Gateway, Colo. (near the Utah border). This meeting location offers limited lodging accommodations with a very steep price tag — $450/$500 per night. And, the nearest alternative lodging is in Grand Junction, over 60 miles away. 

-The ag community, for which the stakes are also quite high with respect to issues surrounding Prop 114 and license allocation, is busy getting livestock out of the high country and preparing for winter.

The folks who stand to lose the most as a result of decisions made at the November commission meeting are simply being kept away and it’s a shame — for our wildlife and their habitat and for those who care about them the most.