CPW can’t catch a break. If polling were used to measure public trust in agencies, it would be a dreary picture. This, however, is the result of political interference with the agency, not as a result of the professionals managing wildlife in the state.

Former CPW Director Jeff Davis was a political sacrifice, and I truly hope he finds satisfaction in his role in Wyoming where he will be part of an agency trusted to make science-based management decisions. Department of Natural Resources Director Gibbs offered a thoroughly disingenuous lauding of Davis, the man he tried to fire last month at the Commission meeting last week. Davis, who couldn’t win for losing, deserves better.

I met Davis at a meeting in North Park at Don Gittleson’s ranch a few years ago. He walked in carrying a pasta salad for a potluck lunch and I imagine his nervous system couldn’t differentiate between that moment and walking into a pack of hungry lions while wearing pork chop pants. Through no fault of his own, he never could give ranchers and stakeholders what they wanted. They wanted the whole truth, and they wanted to know that the Governor and First Gentlemen and their merry band of activists weren’t interfering and pressuring him to run the wolf program according to their beliefs rather than science.

Gov. Polis traded his chances for a presidential nomination or cabinet position for anti-hunter, anti-agriculture rhetoric. There’s no doubt that in his final year in office, he will double down on the “anti” agenda and last year’s defeat of the proposed slaughterhouse ban in the City and County of Denver, and Initiative 308, a fur ban in Denver will look like a mere warmup for the real fight.

None of this has one thing to do with the men and women of the agency who believe in science-based wildlife management and the North American model of wildlife management. They are still doing their jobs and keeping their heads down and trying to survive the next year. The next governor will have to be willing to remove many Polis-era appointees from commissions and leadership positions within the state.

Acting CPW Director Laura Clellan mentioned in her update during the CPW commission meeting that staff has received death threats in response to the fatal mountain lion attack that resulted in the removal of two lions. Bad actors? Perhaps. Don’t forget that ranchers also sought successfully to have legal protection from extremists by protecting their personal information within wolf depredation claims. They, too, have been threatened.

I can’t help but think it is by design. There is a citizen initiative making its way toward the ballot that counts on public dismay with the agency so voters will vote to dissolve it and replace it with a band of activists. Sound bizarre even by Colorado standards? I don’t think so.

A year ago, I wrote about the Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Commission, which has been through more versions and wardrobe changes than Taylor Swift, but is still marching along behind the scenes. The initiative seeks to establish the conservation commission and specify who they deem acceptable to hold membership. It seeks to authorize the commission to designate “state-specific endangered species and keystone species,” establishing a statewide network of wildlife corridors, approving or disapproving public and private infrastructure projects and land-use practices, imposing and collecting fines and fees, seeking and expending grants from public and private sources, and adopting rules; establishes property tax reductions to incentivize landowners to participate in a statewide network of wildlife corridors; enacts new requirements and prohibitions for public and private infrastructure projects and land use practices; and establishes revenue sources to fund the commission. It entirely omits any stakeholder involvement from ranchers, the people who own, care for, and steward for the majority of wildlife habitat in the state.

As I wrote a year ago, this initiative attempts to create this commission as an entity of state government with all the statutory powers and duties that entails, despite the framework for those agencies of the executive department defined in the Colorado Constitution. This initiative attempts to circumvent the Department of Natural Resources and CPW entirely, both agencies held accountable to all stakeholders, not just the ones proponents of this initiative agree with.

The initiative seeks to trample upon the Endangered Species Act by designating their own state-listed endangered species, I suppose based upon their own expertise, though it’s unclear what that might be.

It also seeks to target private landowners who aren’t using or developing their private property in such a way that the WECC deems acceptable and grants the commission the power to investigate, issue subpoenas, inspect private property and refer cases for prosecution.

Dissolving CPW and replacing it with a group of unaccountable activists is wildly unacceptable but it is a reality if voters – and the mainstream media – don’t pay attention.

Rachel Gabel writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine, the region’s preeminent agriculture publication.