Last Monday morning (yesterday) Senator Entz took his bill (SB44) that

would have allowed an earlier start of the bear hunting season off the

table for the remainder of the legislative session.  Effectively, that bill

is dead.

Unfortunately, another Bear Hunting bill is still alive and kicking in the

House.  HB1221, by Representative Snook (R-Alamosa,) would allow an even

earlier start date of the bear season (June 25).  This bill would require

an affirmative statement by the Wildlife Commission that the season would

be starting early because of a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of

Colorado.

Again, the main issue here is, do we really want wildlife management by

legislation in Colorado?  Or should we leave wildlife management up to the

wildlife professionals?

This bill is slated to be heard in the House Ag Committee this Thursday

morning.  We need calls to the following Representatives on that Committee.

WE NEED YOUR CALLS << BEFORE >> THURSDAY MORNING ! ! !

Members of the House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources

Committee may be contacted, as follows:

             MEMBER'S                        CAPITOL          HOME

               NAME           D/R  DIST.      PHONE           PHONE

  Chairman:  Dianne Hoppe      R    65     303-866-3706    970-522-3237

Vice-Chair:  Kay L. Alexander  R    58     303-866-2955    970-249-5862

    Member:  Mary Hodge        D    36     303-866-2912    303-659-3298

    Member:  Bryan Jameson     D    52     303-866-4569    970-581-6941

    Member:  Steve Johnson     R    49     303-866-2907    970-223-8045

    Member:  Carl Miller       D    61     303-866-2952    719-486-0636

    Member:  Tom Plant         D    13     303-866-2938    303-258-7459

    Member:  Gregg P. Rippy    R    57     303-866-2945    970-945-7731

    Member:  Jim Snook         R    60     303-866-2963    719-589-2608

    Member:  Lois Tochtrop     D    34     303-866-2931    303-469-9217

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

+ + + + + + + + + + +

AUDUBON OF COLORADO'S POSITION - FROM MOST RECENT AUDUBON LEGISLATIVE

UPDATE

*HB1221 MANAGEMENT OF BLACK BEAR HUNTING

(Snook, Entz)

Status: House Ag

Position: Oppose

HB1221 is another attempt to change the dates during which bear hunting is

permitted. Under this proposal, the Division of Wildlife could issue

permits as early as June 25 if they determine that reduction of the bear

population is necessary for protection of public health, safety, and

welfare.

+ + + + + + + + + + +

OPINION PIECE FROM FORMER DIRECTOR OF CDOW, JOHN MUMMA, AS IT APPEARED IN

THE GRAND JUNCTION SENTINAL ON FEBRUARY 10, 2002

02.10.02{M4 Mumma: Public may not bear continued legislative meddling

By John Mumma

The Colorado Legislature is a questionable body to micromanage wildlife.

Yet, that is exactly what is occurring as of this writing. During this

session there have been two bills introduced to establish a spring or

summer bear hunting season.

Senate Bill 44 sponsored by Sen. Lewis Entz, R-Hooper, has passed out of

the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The second reading

before the full Senate has been postponed for the past two weeks indicating

some difficulty with gathering enough votes to keep it moving.

House Bill 1221 was introduced by Rep. Jim Snook, R-Alamosa. It is still

awaiting a hearing.

Colorado has a most interesting history involving bear management. Most

people remember when the subject of hunting in the spring (while dependent

cubs are still with their mothers), using bear baits and hunting dogs

became so controversial that the citizens of the state voted to stop those

practices.

Amendment 10 was placed before the voters in 1992 and won by very large

margins: 74 percent in large urban counties, 61 percent in small urban

counties, 59 percent in large rural counties, and 54 percent in small rural

counties. The overall statewide vote was 69.7 percent in favor of

eliminating the spring bear hunt.

Keep in mind that the vote was not to eliminate all bear hunting — just

some questionable shooting practices. Many conservation-minded ethical

hunters as well as wildlife managers had questioned these practices prior

to the amendment.

This brings me to the issue of wildlife management by ballot. Few, if any

professionals I know, favor this type of decision making — that is until

things get out-of-hand.

In Colorado, wildlife is the property of the citizens of the state, not any

one individual or any group of individuals. Wildlife is public property and

as such is held in trust, to be managed by the Colorado Division of

Wildlife. Statutes delegate this responsibility to the division and its

cadre of trained professionals. The statutes also grant the authority to

set wildlife policy to the Colorado Wildlife Commission.

Neither of the two bills about bear hunting currently before the

Legislature was requested by the professionals in the Division of Wildlife.

And while those professionals favor as much flexibility as possible in

making judgments about wildlife decisions, they do not need these bills.

Both bills seem to fly in the face of the public’s expressed sentiments

about hunting while cubs are still with their mothers. That is why the

seasons now start Sept. 1.

The proposed changes are purported to deal with “problem bears,” those that

venture into town. However, most towns and cities prohibit hunting and

shooting within the municipal boundaries. Can you imagine anyone shooting a

bear in a garbage can outside some school or in a back alley? What about in

an apple tree in a backyard?

Why not just go up and hunt bears in the forest during the summer? The

reason is that these aren’t the bears that are causing the problems. What’s

more, the Division of Wildlife already has the authority to handle the

bears that cause the problems in towns and cities.

There are bears that indeed cause problems, but many are the result of a

public uninformed about how human activities can attract bears. People put

their garbage out the night before the collectors come — and guess who

shows up first? Barbeque grills left outside offer strong odors that

attract bears. Pet food does much the same. Bird feeders, especially with

sunflower seeds, are very attractive to bears and should be brought in at

night.

We can all do a much better job of reducing the availability of food and

other odors that attract bears. The saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear,”

has considerable meaning.

Prolonged drought and early spring freeze — which reduce the amount and

availability of bear foods — also push bears into areas where humans

reside. This has been the reason that parts of Colorado have seen an

increase in bear activity in the past couple of seasons.

Prior to Amendment 10, there were about 650 bears per year harvested by

hunters. Some people predicted that the bear harvest would be close to nil

if the amendment passed. Over the past three years however, the harvest by

hunting has amounted to 847, 819 and 716 bears respectively.

What alternative is there to continued legislative attempts to micromanage

the public’s wildlife? The alternative is for the public to say “enough is

enough.” This has occurred in the states of Washington and Arizona. The

citizens of those states took the responsibility to reduce legislative

meddling in wildlife management away. They have established wildlife

management responsibilities within independent wildlife commissions. Maybe

the time has come for this to be debated in Colorado?

I recently read where a politician stated, “I have always felt that

decisions that require technical expertise should be in the hands of those

trained to make them.” I strongly support that notion and challenge those

politicians who make statements like these to walk the talk. These two

bills aren’t good public policy nor are they good wildlife policy.

John Mumma is the former director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. He

lives near Durango.