Many people on the Western Slope are talking about the proposed Colorado Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act. For those who are not aware, Lauren Dobson said people better educate themselves.
Dobson is an advocate for agriculture on the Western Slope. In the past, she worked for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), formerly as Assistant Director for Education and Information. Most recently, she’s been helping organize an ag coalition to make voices of ranchers, outfitters, anglers and producers audible.
She told the Forum on May 9 that the Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act was submitted to the title board April 18. Legislators reviewed it May 2 and gave feedback in the form of “four dozen comments.”
Dobson said the initiative is spearheaded by by Jessica Presso and Cameron Porter, though she’s not clear on the organizations the two are affiliated with.
She said this is the second time Colorado has seen this type of effort come forward. She’s now analyzing the fundamentals of it.
“The way I’m reading it, it would bypass or take the authority of the CPW commission with regard to wildlife management … ” she said.
She added it would mean the new group could designate keystone species, threatened and endangered for Colorado. And, the new group would have authority over land use, including grazing. She said the way the act reads is that if uses are “detrimental or contradictory” to wildlife protection, fines would be issues and permits would be revoked.
The new group is aiming to establish wildlife corridor networks, through which property owners could receive tax breaks. At the same time, any practices deemed contradictory could see fines and consequences.
Dobson worked for CPW for years. She said the agency has managed the state’s resources for more than 125 years, and she considers it one of the most successful organizations in the nation. She said there’s structure and knowledge that has taken decades to build.
“So this is pretty scary, looking at the language … removing CPW and replacing it with an ecosystem commission,” she said.
Dobson said she believes Presso and Porter are trying to get the bill on the ballot for 2026.
Lone Cone Cattlewoman Earlene Antonelli, of Nucla, wonders what it will take for people to connect food to the farm. She said people need to beware of acts that include the word “protection.” She said the word “protection” gets people’s emotions high, without knowing what it is they’re truly supporting.
Presso agreed to speak to the Forum May 12. She said her bill is about “biodiversity, but also making sure rural communities can keep functioning.” Presso said she wants to make sure food remains in refrigerators, and she’s not trying to harm ranching.
“We rely on ranchers, we’re on the same team, we don’t want to inhibit ranchers,” she said.
She said having healthier landscapes helps ranchers, their herds and keeps game numbers high.
“This is not nature versus people, or nature versus ranchers,” she said.
She added the current version of her bill safeguards grazing practices and only penalizes those harming habitats in specified ways.
She said since it’s a citizens’ initiative, she could set up an online portal for comments. Presso said she did want input from the greater public and for the bill to be citizen-driven.
The Forum asked if she would indeed create the comment portal and asked when it might be available. Presso said she could set it up by June. The Forum plans to follow up with her to obtain access to the comment site.
“I think our interests are aligned,” she said Monday, “and I think we all want the same things, broadly speaking.”
The Forum asked Presso if she was a science professor; she said she just finished graduate school with a degree in environmental data sciences. The Forum asked if the bill was for a project, or for an organization; Presso said it wasn’t.
“I saw a gap in legislation, and it’s pretty critical,” she said. “If you read any conservation book, the best thing we can do is make corridors.”
The Forum asked if Porter was a scientist; she said he was, but leadership on her bill is changing.
