LEGAL TODAY DOESN’T MEAN
PROTECTED TOMORROW.

Why do we need a constitutional right to hunt and fish when hunting and fishing are already legal?

Because “I don’t like it” shouldn’t be enough to take those opportunities away.

We’re not just thinking about whether we can hunt this fall. We’re thinking about who makes those decisions, what they’re based on, and whether our children will have the same opportunities.

But first, let’s clear something up.

“I THOUGHT IT WAS AMENDMENT 84?”

You’re remembering correctly. We were using 84. After another qualified ballot measure was withdrawn, the Secretary of State adjusted the numbering. The Right to Hunt & Fish is now Amendment 83. The amendment didn’t change—just the number.

Same amendment. Same mission. YES on 83.

SCIENCE SHOULD BE MORE THAN A TALKING POINT.

It sure would be nice if decisions about hunting and fishing rested on something more substantial than whether the people casting the votes personally approve of them.

Consider Colorado’s recent furbearer decision.

In its July memo, CPW said it had no information showing that harvest reductions were necessary to sustain furbearer populations across their Colorado ranges. The agency’s preferred proposal was a daily limit of 15 animals per species. Commissioners instead adopted two per species per day.

The memo described concerns about social acceptance and perceptions of unlimited harvest. It also cautioned that claims about high-harvest hunters affecting local animal abundance would be speculative without the necessary data. That distinction—between a demonstrated problem and a perception—matters.

When the agency’s professional wildlife staff cannot identify a biological need for further restrictions, the public deserves a better explanation than a smaller number feels better.

Amendment 83 would establish constitutional protection while preserving the state’s authority to regulate hunting and fishing when necessary for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or the future of hunting and fishing opportunities.

We’re not asking to eliminate seasons, licenses, or responsible limits. We’re asking for restrictions to answer to something more than political preferences.

A protected right is not an unregulated activity.

“NOTHING THREATENS HUNTING”? CHECK THE MESSENGER.

In Project Coyote’s opposition announcement, Mark Surls tells us that “hunting and fishing are already legal in Colorado, and nothing threatens that.”

Mark Surls. An official representative of Proposition 127 and the registered agent for Cats Aren’t Trophies—the campaign that tried to ban mountain lion and bobcat hunting.

Apparently, we’re supposed to have a very short memory.

Colorado voters rejected that ban in 2024. That doesn’t mean hunting was never threatened. It means the threat was defeated.

Now someone who helped put those opportunities on the chopping block wants us to believe they need no protection.

That is a remarkable sales pitch.

THE IP28 MINDSET DOESN’T STOP AT THE STATE LINE.

Marlon Reis warns about a constitutional “hiding place for cruelty.” Our blog examines why that language should sound familiar to anyone who followed Oregon’s IP28 campaign.

Reis has questioned why cows should be treated differently from beloved pets. IP28’s campaign asked why protections afforded dogs and cats shouldn’t extend to farm animals and wildlife. Different settings. Strikingly similar arguments about whether humans should kill and use animals at all.

When the objection is that hunting itself is cruelty, a sustainable population doesn’t answer it. Neither does using the meat. The objection isn’t how you hunt. It’s that you hunt at all.

That is why “it’s already legal” misses the point. Colorado needs to protect responsible hunting and fishing—not wait for them to be redefined as something society should eliminate.

READ THE BLOG: WHAT’S BEHIND THE “CRUELTY” ARGUMENT?

LET’S FLOOD THE FEED.

Don’t let someone else define hunters and anglers for the people who know you.

Use the graphic creator to put your face and your support for the Right to Hunt & Fish into the conversation. Create your graphic, download it, and share it on Instagram, Facebook, and your story.

Add a sentence about why this matters to you. Ask three friends to make theirs.

We need to reach beyond hunting circles. Your coworker, neighbor, or friend who doesn’t hunt deserves to hear why you care—not just what the opposition says about you.

HELP PROTECT COLORADO’S FUTURE.

Want to support the Right to Hunt & Fish movement in Colorado? Learn more, get involved, and help move this effort forward.

We won the last fight. That is not a reason to leave the future unprotected.

It is a reason to vote YES on Amendment 83.

Check Voter Registration

Stand for Wildlife. Stand for Hunting.

Howl For Wildlife
https://www.howlforwildlife.org/