Please support House Bill 17-1321, CO Parks & Wildlife Financial Sustainability

From a sister group, the Friends of Colorado State Parks :

Don't let our amazing state parks slip away ... support their future by calling your Colorado General Assembly Rep today in support of House Bill 17-1321 ... find your legislator here: leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator

And learn more about this bill: mailchi.mp/996f25e7562b/cpw-financial-su...ation-3?e=5be38a0bab

Ready to take even more action? Check-out our Action Page to see how: www.friendsofcoloradostateparks.com/take-action

A fact sheet and additional information on H.B. 17-1321 is available on the CPW website here: cpw.state.co.us/Sustainability-Bill
cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Financial-Sust...ial_Legislations.pdf

CPW is an enterprise agency that typically receives no general fund dollars (income and sales tax dollars). CPW relies on revenue from hunters, anglers and park visitors to cover its expenses. State and federal law mandates that funding for wildlife management and for the park management within the agency remain completely separate. H.B. 17-1321, sponsored by Representative Arndt, Wilson, Catlin, Rankin, McLachlan, and Mitsch Bush, would provide the 11-member Parks and Wildlife Commission - which governs the agency - with authority to set parks, hunting and fishing fees within a legislatively mandated cap. Giving the Commission the ability to set and adjust fees will allow CPW to cover the rising costs associated with managing wildlife, protecting habitat and maintaining and improving parks in our fast-growing state.

Colorado state parks see more than 13 million visitors per year. Park entrance fees have not increased since 2010. Sportsmen and women provide 80 percent of CPW funding for wildlife through hunting and fishing. The last price increase for resident licenses was in 2005.

This bill proposes to:

• Phase in increased park fees and resident hunting and fishing license prices, generally by no more than 50 percent of current levels, and allow for adjusting prices to keep up with inflation.
• Sets the fee for an annual senior fishing license at no more than one-half the price of annual resident fishing licenses.
• Increase application fees for limited hunting licenses allocated through a drawing to $20.
• Create registration fees for motorized and non-motorized watercraft to help pay for the Aquatic Nuisance Species program.