Many of the same interests who brought forward the Denver Fur Ban ballot measure in 2024 are back – this time supporting a petition to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission to ban the sale of furbearer fur and products. “Furbearers” under CPW regulations refer to the species traditionally hunted or trapped with fur of commercial value, such as mink, badger, beaver, coyote and fox.
The petition contains an exemption for finished hand-tied flies, but notably does not exempt the sale, trade or barter of the fur used in tying flies. As written, the proposal would ban something as simple as a legal hunter trading harvested fur with a fly-tying friend or neighbor in exchange for some of the completed flies to use in fishing, or a Colorado fly-tyer purchasing a strip of mink fur sourced from out-of-state to use in tying streamers.
The petition will be considered by the Commission at its March 4-5 meeting, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Westminster. You can weigh in on the issue by submitting your comments online through the Commission’s public comment form at this link. The deadline for comments to be included in the Commission briefing books is noon on February 27.
While precise furbearer population estimates are difficult to obtain, available information suggests that populations are healthy. The petitioners present no information demonstrating that furbearer populations are declining and that harvest in Colorado is unsustainable; they only state that CPW’s data is not comprehensive. Yet their proposed solution is not to bolster data collection to inform science-based wildlife management; it is a political move against traditional outdoor recreation activities of which they disapprove. Indeed, the petition was filed at a time when CPW was beginning a stakeholder engagement process, to be informed by best available science, on the management of furbearer species. The petition is a pre-emption of that effort.
Notably for one major furbearer species, beaver, CPW is finalizing a statewide management plan aimed at increasing beaver on landscapes across the state. Colorado TU alongside other wildlife conservationists encouraged CPW in developing that plan, recognizing that beaver help improve watershed health and resiliency and provide vital fish habitat, especially in droughts. The new beaver plan includes a proposed mandatory sealing requirement for beaver harvested by recreational trappers and hunters – a step that will ensure more comprehensive information on harvest of the species. The beaver plan takes a comprehensive approach in promoting beaver – from coexistence strategies for “problem” beavers impacting key infrastructure, to introduction guidance, to management of harvest by sportspeople – and offers promise for promoting this keystone species in more watersheds across the state.
CPW’s approach on the beaver management plan is an example of how the science-based management of fish and wildlife should work to benefit species and habitat in Colorado. In contrast, the furbearer fur ban petition is an attack on science-based fish and wildlife management. Colorado TU urges the Parks and Wildlife Commission to reject the petition, and to allow CPW staff to continue using sound science as their guiding star for fish and wildlife management.
Please add your voice – submit respectful comments to the Commission through their online comment page and ask them to support science-based fish and wildlife management and to reject the fur ban petition.
