The National Wildlife Federation, a conservation group that represents many hunters, stopped short of challenging the Colorado decision but emphasized a need to address habitat loss.
“We believe that habitat degradation from energy, and residential development, which has been confirmed by CPW biologists for years, should be the primary focus of scientifically-based wildlife management,” NWF’s regional director Brian Kurzel said. “But this requires that CPW has adequate resources, including diversified and increased funding. CPW can be better prepared to take on the huge issue of habitat loss through incremental fee increases and broader species conservation funding that sportsmen and other wildlife conservationists can get behind.”