CO Mountain Lion Ballot Initiative: Continuous Updates

[terrytheluddite]

What’s really going to sting is if this 6.5% tax on guns and ammo passes..

Looks like Wyoming is getting my money on that one.

 

[Sp00ns]

Ban on mountain lion, lynx and bobcat hunting headed for defeat

The proposition would have imposed penalties for hunters who continue to kill big cats, including barring them from holding state hunting licenses for five years.

www.cpr.org

Looks like it's good news for us today!

 

[gbflyer]

How do these ballot initiatives work when they are voted down? Can the people pushing this just try again on the next election year?

Yes. And you can bet they will. Remain vigilant my CO friends!

 

[ElDiablito]

The AP has officially call it!

 

[ElDiablito]

A huge thanks to all who helped defeat this measure including Dan Gates, CRWM, HOWL, the Concord Fund, SCI, GoHunt, CSF, Wild Sheep, RMEF, NSSF, Fur Takers, MDF, NRA, cattlemen, woolgrowers and sportsman and women!!!

From a recent article in the VailDaily:

Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better’s largest donor is the Concord Fund, a conservative advocacy and donor organization based in Virginia. The group, which has ties to Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society, contributed $600,000 to the committee.

Its next largest donor is the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization for hunters, anglers, trappers and recreational shooters. To date, the group has donated $237,000 to the committee.

Safari Club International’s Colorado Chapter donated $150,000, making it one of several Safari Club International chapters to do so. This group is a hunting rights organization based in Washington D.C. representing hunter interests. It has 50,000 members nationwide.

A Safari Club International chapter, based in Tuscon, has donated $41,500 to the committee opposing 127, with its Upper Colorado River, Michigan, Southern New Mexico, Alaska and Four Corners chapters also making contributions.

Other large donations to Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better include:

• $200,000 from Rocky Mountain Elk, a Montana-based nonprofit with chapters in various states including Colorado, with the stated mission to protect elk, habitat and the heritage of hunting.
• $150,000 from Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, a group that has been outspoken against 127 and Denver ballot measures to ban fur and slaughterhouses
• $100,000 from the Wild Sheep Foundation, a Montana-based organization supporting wild sheep conservation
• $50,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms industry based in Connecticut
• $35,000 from Fur Takers of America, a national fur trapper association based in Wisconsin, which has a Colorado affiliate, Colorado Trappers and Predator Hunters Association
• $25,000 from the Mule Deer Foundation, a Utah-based nonprofit that supports deer conservation and regulated hunting as a part of wildlife management

It has also received donations from the National Rifle Association and various other cattlemen and wool grower associations as well as sportsmen and hunting outfitters.

 

[lak2004]

A huge thanks to all who helped defeat this measure including Dan Gates, CRWM, HOWL, the Concord Fund, SCI, GoHunt, CSF, Wild Sheep, RMEF, NSSF, Fur Takers, MDF, NRA, cattlemen, woolgrowers and sportsman and women!!!

From a recent article in the VailDaily:

Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better’s largest donor is the Concord Fund, a conservative advocacy and donor organization based in Virginia. The group, which has ties to Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society, contributed $600,000 to the committee.

Its next largest donor is the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization for hunters, anglers, trappers and recreational shooters. To date, the group has donated $237,000 to the committee.

Safari Club International’s Colorado Chapter donated $150,000, making it one of several Safari Club International chapters to do so. This group is a hunting rights organization based in Washington D.C. representing hunter interests. It has 50,000 members nationwide.

A Safari Club International chapter, based in Tuscon, has donated $41,500 to the committee opposing 127, with its Upper Colorado River, Michigan, Southern New Mexico, Alaska and Four Corners chapters also making contributions.

Other large donations to Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better include:

• $200,000 from Rocky Mountain Elk, a Montana-based nonprofit with chapters in various states including Colorado, with the stated mission to protect elk, habitat and the heritage of hunting.
• $150,000 from Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, a group that has been outspoken against 127 and Denver ballot measures to ban fur and slaughterhouses
• $100,000 from the Wild Sheep Foundation, a Montana-based organization supporting wild sheep conservation
• $50,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms industry based in Connecticut
• $35,000 from Fur Takers of America, a national fur trapper association based in Wisconsin, which has a Colorado affiliate, Colorado Trappers and Predator Hunters Association
• $25,000 from the Mule Deer Foundation, a Utah-based nonprofit that supports deer conservation and regulated hunting as a part of wildlife management

It has also received donations from the National Rifle Association and various other cattlemen and wool grower associations as well as sportsmen and hunting outfitters.

Thanks for the breakdown, now I know who to support!

 

[robby denning]

Big win guys. I know a bunch of you donated your own money, got out and talked to nonhunters, thank you thank you thank you.

I just got off the Microsoft teams call with the coalition formed by Dan Gates , Dan got very emotional on the call. I can’t imagine what he’s experiencing right now. We were all looking for the standing ovation button!

Everybody go take a victory lap!

 

[ElDiablito]

1.7K views · 47 reactions | The voters of Colorado have spoken. By voting NO on Proposition 127 they said their wildlife is more important than out-of-state special interests and animal extremists. We thank them for allowing the experts at Colorado P

The voters of Colorado have spoken. By voting NO on Proposition 127 they said their wildlife is more important than out-of-state special interests and animal extremists. We thank them for allowing...

www.facebook.com

 

[mlevimadden]

Big win for Colorado. Congrats to everyone for all the hard work that went into defeating this initiative. I hope we can take a page from the anti-hunters playbook and go on the offensive for the next election.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

How do these ballot initiatives work when they are voted down? Can the people pushing this just try again on the next election year?

Yes but they spent millions to fail and by a decent margin, they’ll likely look to attack other states / topics with their resources for their next attempt vs immediately retrying.

 

[taskswap]

With all due respect, brother I disagree, we reacted late on the wolf issue, but Dan Gates and CRWM got way ahead on this cat issue. @Travis Hobbs had Dan on the Rokcast on January 1, (and Dan had been on a few other podcasts last fall). We offered free ad space to HOWL starting in 2023.

To me, waiting for a ballot initiative to get going IS reacting late. Playing defense once the other team has the ball is short-sighted and a poor way to win a war. You're all happy now, but were sure biting your nails last night wondering, and "winning" this 55 to 45 was not a big victory to me.

I grant that we had a concerted campaign by many hard working folks to kill it, but maintain that it should never gotten off the ground. Free ad space on a hunting forum, to convince hunters that an anti-hunting ballot was a bad idea? It's a good tactic, but tactics win battles. Strategies win wars.

I do have thoughts on meaningful actions we could work together on to improve this situation in the future but if y'all are content to sip your victory cocoa and say I'm the one in the vacuum chamber, it seems like a waste of time. What are you all doing today to prevent the NEXT ballot measure from passing? I know what I'm doing, but if everyone else's answer is "wait for it to be filed" I don't have high hopes.

 

[Dirtbag]

Big win, hopefully we can all continue to rally and go on the offensive. It’s not like they aren’t just going to keep trying.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

To me, waiting for a ballot initiative to get going IS reacting late. Playing defense once the other team has the ball is short-sighted and a poor way to win a war. You're all happy now, but were sure biting your nails last night wondering, and "winning" this 55 to 45 was not a big victory to me.

I grant that we had a concerted campaign by many hard working folks to kill it, but maintain that it should never gotten off the ground. Free ad space on a hunting forum, to convince hunters that an anti-hunting ballot was a bad idea? It's a good tactic, but tactics win battles. Strategies win wars.

I do have thoughts on meaningful actions we could work together on to improve this situation in the future but if y'all are content to sip your victory cocoa and say I'm the one in the vacuum chamber, it seems like a waste of time. What are you all doing today to prevent the NEXT ballot measure from passing? I know what I'm doing, but if everyone else's answer is "wait for it to be filed" I don't have high hopes.

They didn’t wait for it to be filed, they were already moving years prior.

Agreed we need to explore closing the option for ballot box biology.

Outside money paid signature gathers in CO, there is nothing we could have done to stop that within current laws. Yes let’s explore future options.

 

[lak2004]

To me, waiting for a ballot initiative to get going IS reacting late. Playing defense once the other team has the ball is short-sighted and a poor way to win a war. You're all happy now, but were sure biting your nails last night wondering, and "winning" this 55 to 45 was not a big victory to me.

I grant that we had a concerted campaign by many hard working folks to kill it, but maintain that it should never gotten off the ground. Free ad space on a hunting forum, to convince hunters that an anti-hunting ballot was a bad idea? It's a good tactic, but tactics win battles. Strategies win wars.

I do have thoughts on meaningful actions we could work together on to improve this situation in the future but if y'all are content to sip your victory cocoa and say I'm the one in the vacuum chamber, it seems like a waste of time. What are you all doing today to prevent the NEXT ballot measure from passing? I know what I'm doing, but if everyone else's answer is "wait for it to be filed" I don't have high hopes.

There was no option but to be reactionary. There have been discussions about "right to hunt" initiatives, but the conclusion I've gotten is that the funding wasn't necessarily there to start the initiative. Let's get it going now that this initiative was defeated. We have the structure with CRWM and CWDB i think.

 

[robby denning]

To me, waiting for a ballot initiative to get going IS reacting late. Playing defense once the other team has the ball is short-sighted and a poor way to win a war. You're all happy now, but were sure biting your nails last night wondering, and "winning" this 55 to 45 was not a big victory to me.

I grant that we had a concerted campaign by many hard working folks to kill it, but maintain that it should never gotten off the ground. Free ad space on a hunting forum, to convince hunters that an anti-hunting ballot was a bad idea? It's a good tactic, but tactics win battles. Strategies win wars.

I do have thoughts on meaningful actions we could work together on to improve this situation in the future but if y'all are content to sip your victory cocoa and say I'm the one in the vacuum chamber, it seems like a waste of time. What are you all doing today to prevent the NEXT ballot measure from passing? I know what I'm doing, but if everyone else's answer is "wait for it to be filed" I don't have high hopes.

Good to hear back from you.

On the "free-ad space on a hunting forum..." comment--strangley we found that the antis wouldn't let HOWL run a banner on their platforms. Seriously, you're criticizing that? We had to alert the hunters this was even happening before we could fight anyone. Many hunters told us they first heard about this issue on Rokslide/Rokcast.

You asked what we're doing to prevent the next ballot measure from passing? Congratulating and thanking everyone on Rokslide who got behind this defeat. Many members put in their own money and time. They deserve a BIG thanks and to celebrate this victory. It would be a very different day today in Colorado if 127 would've passed.

We'll get to the next fight soon enough (watch for updates on the Rokcast, the @Howl For Wildlife banner mentioned, and various threads on here).

Let us know what you're "doing" while we take our victory lap, we'd very likely support it. We're all in this together.

 

[robby denning]

Press release from Brian Prater (a campaign strategist)

VICTORY! WE HAVE DEFEATED PROPOSITION 127! A sincere thank you to everyone for your hard work, support, and financial contributions to defeat this measure overwhelmingly in Colorado. This was a hard fight by everyone, but the sportsmen community rallied together to demonstrate science-based wildlife management is the way to go and NOT ballot box biology. Below is the full release that was just distributed to the media. We are working media coverage this morning and will send updates as they are available with full media reports forthcoming in the days ahead.

CONGRATULATIONS!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2024

Contact:
Brian Prater
Senior Government Affairs Associate, Pac/West Strategies
(303) 349-5579
[email protected]

DENVER, CO – In a decisive victory for Colorado’s ecosystems and communities, voters have rejected Proposition 127, a measure aimed at restricting wildlife management practices related to mountain lions, and bobcats. Colorado voters recognized the ballot is not the correct vehicle for wildlife management.

The “No on 127” campaign, led by Colorado Wildlife Deserves Better, has celebrated this outcome as a resounding endorsement of expert-driven, science-based wildlife management over ballot-driven policies.

Dan Gates, Chairman of Colorado Wildlife Deserves Better, stated, “Today, Coloradans stood up for science and sound wildlife management by voting against Proposition 127. This result reflects the voices of those who recognize the importance of letting wildlife experts, not the ballot box, guide decisions on the conservation of Colorado's big cats. By rejecting this misguided initiative, voters have ensured that our state's ecosystem can continue to thrive under the careful stewardship of Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Together, we've protected not only our wildlife but also the safety of our communities. A big thank you to all the Colorado voters who stood for wildlife and sound science-based management.”

Proposition 127 faced opposition from a broad coalition of conservationists, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and scientific experts who warned that the initiative could lead to unintended consequences for Colorado’s wildlife and public safety. Proponents of the measure, backed by substantial funding from out-of-state interests, relied heavily on emotional appeals, often ignoring data provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), which has been managing these

The rejection of Proposition 127 allows CPW to continue managing Colorado’s predator populations based on decades of research, balancing the needs of these species with the safety and interests of Colorado’s residents. The “No on 127” campaign expressed gratitude to the voters, volunteers, and partner organizations who worked tirelessly to protect the integrity of Colorado’s wildlife management practices.

 

[ElDiablito]

 

[robby denning]

I know some of you guys aren't on Instagram (much respect but please no shade just because we are) and i just noticed our post announcing the 127 Defeat just hit record territory on Story Shares. That's how excited these hunters, both Res/NonRes are!

 

[Bluumoon]

Stoked we beat this.

Hopefully we can go on the offense. Constitutional right to hunt and some way to prevent appointees from chipping away at hunting (Maybe have county commissioners make appointments , I don’t care for mine personally, but I know which way most rural counties would go)

We all keep saying reject ballot box biology, but if we don’t fix the above, we may very well need “ballot box biology”to fight for what we want.