It seems to me that the interests of the birding community are not being taken very much into consideration in any serious fashion by Colo. Parks & Wildlife and that has been a longstanding problem. This is not just specific to this issue, this SWA, or the new requirement mandating all users to have a fishing/hunting license to use SWAs, but really with regard to a whole host of issues for both SWAs and State Parks from usage policies to land and water management policies, etc. I am well aware that--at least in the past--the birding community was at a disadvantage from the standpoint that CPW saw hunters and fisherman as their primary revenue source, particularly for SWAs, but the new rules change that equation.
Perhaps what could be very effective here is greater action by our State's various birding organizations like Denver Audubon, DFO, CFO, etc. I think one of the prime reasons hunting and fishing groups get policies in line with what they want from CPW is their groups are extremely active and vocal in pushing their agenda. This is not to say individuals should not speak out themselves on these issues (they should), but larger groups who can speak for many do often carry more weight. Larger groups can also organize campaigns to get more individuals (their members) to speak out on crucial issues, get the word out to members and keep in contact with CPW officials on new policies. Perhaps groups like Denver Audubon, CFO and DFO might consider taking a more active and vocal role in proactively pushing for pro-birding policies with CPW and other decision makers. It's often much easier to proactively impact these policies before they are put into place instead of trying to react to and undo a new policy that we find problematic. John Malenich Boulder, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/dda3e47a-0dec-4eb4-9275-4a51c5360960%40googlegroups.com.
