2015
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 15-1022
       
       BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Wilson and Becker K., Arndt, Becker J.,
       Brown, Buck, Buckner, Carver, Conti, Coram, Court, Danielson,
       DelGrosso, Dore, Duran, Esgar, Everett, Fields, Foote, Garnett, Ginal,
       Hamner, Humphrey, Joshi, Kagan, Keyser, Klingenschmitt, Kraft-Tharp,
       Landgraf, Lawrence, Lebsock, Lee, Lontine, Lundeen, McCann, Melton,
       Mitsch Bush, Moreno, Navarro, Neville P., Nordberg, Pabon, Pettersen,
       Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Ransom, Rosenthal, Roupe, Ryden, Saine,
       Salazar, Sias, Singer, Tate, Thurlow, Tyler, Van Winkle, Vigil, Willett,
       Williams, Windholz, Winter, Young, Hullinghorst;
       also SENATOR(S) Baumgardner and Garcia, Aguilar, Balmer, Carroll,
       Cooke, Crowder, Donovan, Grantham, Guzman, Heath, Hill, Hodge,
       Holbert, Jahn, Johnston, Jones, Kefalas, Kerr, Lambert, Lundberg,
       Marble, Martinez Humenik, Merrifield, Neville T., Newell, Roberts,
       Scheffel, Scott, Sonnenberg, Steadman, Todd, Woods, Cadman.
       
       CONCERNING THE COLORADO LEGISLATIVE 
               SPORTSMEN'S CAUCUS. 
       
          WHEREAS, Based on the information provided in Colorado Parks
       and Wildlife's 2014 "Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation
       Plan", hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching in Colorado produce more
       than $5 billion of economic output per year and support nearly 50,000
       jobs within the state; and
       
          WHEREAS, Hunting and fishing, in addition to being essential
       components of Colorado's rich heritage, garner widespread popularity in
       this state, as approximately 160,000 Coloradans possess hunting licenses
       and approximately 666,000 Coloradans possess fishing licenses; and
       
          WHEREAS, More than a century ago, hunters and anglers were
       among the first conservationists who realized America's natural resources
       were in peril and could not sustain unregulated harvest and habitat
       destruction; and
       
       
       
       
          WHEREAS, Hunters and anglers took it upon themselves to support
       laws that: Stopped excessive harvest of fish and wildlife; established
       game and fish agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and their habitats; and
       supported special fishing and hunting license fees to help fund efforts to
       provide healthy natural resources for future generations; and
       
          WHEREAS, Upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient
       to restore and sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations, hunters and
       anglers supported excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery,
       hunting, and fishing equipment to raise additional funds to support
       restoration and enhancement efforts of state agencies; and
       
          WHEREAS, This user-pay, public-benefit system became known as
       the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration
       Program (WSFR) that began with the passage of the "Pittman-Robertson
       Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937", which was bolstered
       with the passage of the "Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of
       1950" and further expanded with the passage of the Wallop-Breaux
       amendments to the 1950 act in 1984; and
       
          WHEREAS, Colorado received nearly $27 million in WSFR program
       funding in fiscal year 2014 and has received upwards of $404 million in
       WSFR funds to support conservation since 1939; and
       
          WHEREAS, The stated mission of the Colorado Legislative
       Sportsmen's Caucus, a nonpartisan caucus formed in 2002 by the
       Sixty-third General Assembly, is to:
       
               Preserve and promote the traditional rights of American citizens
               to hunt, fish, and pursue outdoor activities;
               Ensure that America's sportsmen have reasonable access to public
               lands to enjoy outdoor pursuits;
               Protect the investment of sportsmen in wildlife and fisheries
               management by safeguarding the integrity of user-fee trust funds;
               Support efforts to enhance multiple-use habitat management for
               wildlife and fisheries;
               Recognize the importance of hunting, fishing, and other outdoor
               activities to our nation's economy;
       
       
       
               Support the maintenance and growth of outdoor-related industries
               and activities; and
               Work as a collaborative partner with the agricultural community
               in providing and protecting wildlife habitat; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventieth
       General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:
       
          (1)  That the General Assembly urges its members to join the
       Colorado Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus; and
       
          (2)  That the General Assembly urges Colorado's institutions, both
       public and private, to work with the Colorado Legislative Sportsmen's
       Caucus as it strives to assist sportsmen to uphold their critical role in
       maintaining an economically vibrant and environmentally healthy
       Colorado.
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________ ____________________________
       Dickey Lee Hullinghorst               Bill L. Cadman
       SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE                    PRESIDENT OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Marilyn Eddins                     Cindi L. Markwell
       CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE                SECRETARY OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE