Proposition 302: Protecting Colorado's Wildlife Conservation Legacy
Colorado's hunters and anglers have been among the state's most dedicated conservationists for generations. Through license fees, excise taxes, volunteer efforts, and advocacy for habitat protection, sportsmen and women have helped build one of the most successful wildlife conservation systems in the world.
Proposition 302 is about preserving that legacy.
The measure would establish a constitutional right for Coloradans to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife while affirming that hunting and fishing remain the primary and preferred means of responsibly managing wildlife populations. Just as importantly, it preserves the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to regulate hunting and fishing based on sound scientific wildlife management. Prop 302 is not a mandate against conservation—it is a constitutional endorsement of science-based conservation. It explicitly allows regulations that are reasonable and necessary for wildlife conservation, public safety, and the future of hunting and fishing opportunities.
The North American Model Works
The foundation of modern wildlife conservation in the United States is the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This model has helped restore species such as elk, wild turkey, whitetail deer, waterfowl, and many others from historic lows to thriving populations.
At its core, the model recognizes that wildlife belongs to all citizens, not private interests, and that scientific management should guide wildlife policy. Wildlife professionals—not political campaigns, special-interest groups, or social media trends—should make decisions about wildlife populations. Scientific management is one of the model's central principles and has been widely adopted by wildlife agencies across North America.
Despite the recognition that wildlife belongs to all citizens, hunters and fishermen carry the brunt of the financial burden. With self-inflicted excise taxes and elaborate licensing fees, the vast majority of funding for wildlife agencies and conservation work are driven by hunting and fishing. Look at Colorado’s Habitat Stamp program, for example. Anyone can purchase a habitat stamp, and proceeds fund wildlife conservation and projects that protect habitat and increase access to public land. In 2024, Habitat Stamp sales brought in approximately $7.7 million to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and less than 0.1% were purchased by non-consumptive users.
Colorado's wildlife management system has long operated under these principles. Prop 302 helps ensure that future wildlife policy remains grounded in science rather than ideology.
Hunting and Fishing Are Under Increasing Pressure
Supporters of Prop 302 are not imagining the threats facing hunting and fishing. Across the country, activists have increasingly targeted traditional wildlife management practices, predator management programs, trapping, and hunting opportunities.
In recent years, voters in several western states have been asked to consider ballot initiatives restricting hunting methods, predator management tools, and wildlife management practices. Public access challenges continue to grow as population increases, private land ownership consolidates, and development pressures expand into critical wildlife habitat.
Currently, Oregon faces the potential of an all-out ban on any activities that injure or kill any animal, eliminating both fishing and hunting as well as agricultural practices and animal-based science[1] throughout the entire state. It would seem surreal to think that this could happen in heavily populated states where the populus is more likely to be out of touch with nature… but to think this could happen in Oregon where hunting and fishing has been an important part of the culture for thousands of years is unfathomable[2][3] . Nevertheless, this movement is gaining traction with hundreds of thousands of signatures to get it on the November ballot.
Colorado itself has seen repeated debates over mountain lion management, wolf reintroduction, firearm restrictions, and other issues that directly affect hunters and wildlife managers. Earlier this year, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission advanced a ban on the sale, barter, and trade of wild fur in Colorado despite opposition from state biologists and most of the public based on recent polls. Regardless of where individuals stand on those specific issues, one reality remains: wildlife management decisions are increasingly being driven through political campaigns rather than professional wildlife agencies.
Prop. 302 provides an important safeguard by recognizing that hunting and fishing are not merely recreational activities. They are essential conservation tools that help fund wildlife management, support rural economies, and provide wildlife agencies with proven methods for managing populations. Voting Prop. 302 into the state constitution would effectively put an end to the sneak attack tactics that the anti-hunting and -fishing activists[4] have adopted.
Learning from Florida
Colorado would not be breaking new ground.
In 2024, Florida voters approved Amendment 2, a constitutional right to hunt and fish, with approximately 67 percent of the vote. Florida became the 24th state to adopt constitutional protections for hunting and fishing rights. Supporters argued that the amendment would protect outdoor traditions while preserving the authority of state wildlife managers to regulate hunting and fishing responsibly.
The overwhelming support demonstrated that hunting and fishing remain widely valued by the public—not only by sportsmen and women, but by citizens who recognize their role in conservation and wildlife management.
Colorado now has the opportunity to join those states in affirming the importance of hunting and fishing as legitimate and necessary component of modern conservation.
A Vote for Conservation
Prop 302 is not about eliminating wildlife regulations. It is not about weakening conservation safeguards. It is not about granting special privileges.
It is about protecting a conservation model that has produced remarkable wildlife recoveries and sustained healthy wildlife populations for generations.
The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation has shown that science-based management, funded and supported by hunters and anglers, works. Prop 302 helps ensure that Colorado continues to benefit from that proven system.
For anyone who values wildlife, public access, habitat conservation, and scientifically managed game populations, Prop 302 deserves support.
Colorado's conservation future should be guided by wildlife science, not shifting political winds. Prop 302 helps keep it that way.[5]
How Can You Help?
Great question! This initiative needs signatures! But you have to sign in person and you have to live in Colorado. So if you know Coloradans, encourage them to get out there and sign.
Find a location to sign the petition
Just as we saw in Florida, the anti-hunting community will take to social media with misinformation in an attempt to convince Coloradans that this constitutional amendment is a sneaky way of serving special interests and inhumane practices. IT’S JUST NOT TRUE. This is about as straight forward as it gets, a legislative safeguard to protect the principles that have shaped the most successful wildlife and habitat management program in the world.
So we have to be louder than them. We need to talk about the benefits, we need to share it with everyone we know in Colorado and make sure that the Coloradans are prepared with facts, not opinions, every step of the way. So, send this blog post to your Coloradan friends, make a post on social media, send a text, or make a call. Just get the word out… That’s what you can do to help!
And maybe subscribe to the blog to stay up to speed on our efforts!
