Some great news for hunters coming out of last night’s election results.
Obviously, most people today are talking about the somewhat easy victory for Donald Trump in last night’s election, who will join Grover Cleveland as the only other president to serve two non-consecutive terms (Cleveland was elected as the 22nd president in 1884 and the 24th president in 1892.)
Currently, the AP has Trump with 277 electoral votes compared to Kamala Harris’ 224 with five states still hanging in the balance, four of which (Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and Alaska) are currently leaning toward Trump. He also became the first Republican candidate to win the popular vote since 2004. As I write this Trump has a 3.5%, almost 5 million vote, lead overall, both measures greater than Hillary’s performance in 2016 but less than Biden’s 2020 win.
I’ll probably do a dive and see what a second Trump presidency can mean for hunters, anglers, and outdoors enthusiasts but there was a ballot initiative in Colorado that potentially had some major wildlife management consequences that seems to be going the way of hunters, seemingly a rare win in today’s landscape.
Colorado’s Proposition 127
Coloradans were voting on Proposition 127, which would banned the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx (which are already a non-game species due to Endangered Species Act protections).
The initiative read:
“Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning a prohibition on the hunting of mountain lions, lynx, and bobcats, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the intentional killing, wounding, pursuing, entrapping, or discharging or releasing of a deadly weapon at a mountain lion, lynx, or bobcat; creating eight exceptions to this prohibition including for the protection of human life, property, and livestock; establishing a violation of this prohibition as a class 1 misdemeanor; and increasing fines and limiting wildlife license privileges for persons convicted of this crime”
This is not the first time a wildlife management decision has been put directly in front of voters. Back in late 2023, the results of a 2020 ballot initiative Proposition 114 went into effect, which mandated the reintroduction of wolves along Colorado’s Front Range.
This was a very close decision but passed 51/49 and on December 19th, 2023, 5 gray wolves from Oregon were released in Grand County by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials.
Arguments In Favor
The Prop 127 initiative was lead by a group called Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs), which was very vocal and influential in the urban areas of the Centennial State. I received numerous press releases from this group which explained the reasoning behind their position, including a moral stance against harvesting an animal just for its fur, maintaining mountain lion populations to reduce the spread of CWD in local deer populations, a moral stance against the use of hounds to tracks cats, and the disruption of feline’s social and familial circles when one is removed.
YES on Prop 127- Trophy hunting doesn’t stop conflicts with livestock and pets—it may even increase them. Removing large, stable lions upsets the balance, bringing in inexperienced juveniles. #Prop127 allows continued management of problem animals. pic.twitter.com/KVR0t4K4Lz
— Animal Wellness Action (@AWAction_News) November 3, 2024
Funny enough, Carole Baskin (yes, that one) was one of the three biggest financial backers of the Prop 127 push.
According to Colorado Pols, Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue (located in Tampa, Florida) poured at least $225,000 into the campaign as of mid October, making her one of the three biggest financial backers. She was also vocal about her support for the passing of Prop 127:
𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄 “𝐘𝐄𝐒” 𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎’𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏 𝟏𝟐𝟕!
“There are more wild lions shot in Colorado every year than there are African lions shot for trophies across all 20 of the African nations where they live,” Pacelle pointed out.“Shooting 500-plus mountain lions in…
— Big Cat Rescue (@BigCatRescue) November 4, 2024
Arguments Against
Most, if not all, hunter advocacy groups pushed back on these claims, saying that hunter control of populations has been proven effective over many years of big cat hunting, CWD first being identified in Colorado proves mountain lions don’t reduce the spread, pointing to the growing number of human-lion interactions as a reason to keep all tools available to protect local residents and livestock, denying the claim that lion meat can’t be eaten, and a principled stance on fighting against the erosion of hunting and trapping rights and keeping wildlife management decisions in the hands of state officials rather than ballot box biology.
Some pointed out the vague wording and feared it was a slippery slope that could lead to the removal of all hunting rights in the state along with a serious economic impact due to the removal or reduction in license sales.
This is the scariest thing you'll see this Halloween day! It's on Colorado's ballot as Proposition 127. VOTE NO for the sake of human safety & in support of proven wildlife management. #colorado #prop127 pic.twitter.com/LFC837hksh
— Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (@RMEF) October 31, 2024
Election Countdown: Proposition 127 – Big Cat Hunting Ban
With Election Day just days away, here’s the quick take on Prop 127:
Ban: Would prohibit hunting mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx in Colorado.
Economic Impact: Losses of up to $61.65M, including a $410K direct hit to… pic.twitter.com/b4kg2p6fAq
— Common Sense Institute Colorado (@CSInstituteCO) October 30, 2024
Heading into yesterday’s election, most signs pointed in the direction of Prop 127 passing, meaning the ban on hunting lions, bobcats, and lynx (which, again, cannot be hunted in Colorado already) would go into effect.
But much like the polls surrounding the presidential race, it appears the experts got this one wrong…
Voters Choose Hunting In Colorado
While it hasn’t been officially called yet, it’s becoming clear that Colorado’s Proposition 127 will fail. As of writing, with about 73% of the votes counted, Colorado Public Radio has No/Against at 55.5% and Yes/For at 44.5%. They expect the remaining districts to echo that ratio, meaning there will be no ban on hunting mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado. Lynx will remain protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Prop 127, an outright ban on hunting of mountain lions and other cats in Colorado, rejected by 10 points at close of counting last night, on track to lose badly #copolitics
— Complete Colorado (@CompleteCO) November 6, 2024
This is enormously good news for the outdoors community.
Even if you’re not a big cat hunter (which I am not), it’s easy to see how putting wildlife decisions in the hands of people with no actual life experience around them is a problem. Ranchers are dealing with the consequences of the wolf reintroduction (the pack already had to be moved once after a series of livestock depredations) and it’s clear the state’s residents learned something from the first go around.
I often use the example of tigers when talking about predator management. Sure, we love them here in the US. They’re incredible, beautiful creatures and certainly should have some protections so we can maintain the species well into the future. But do you know who doesn’t love tigers? The people who wake up and find them in their backyard, stalking and hunting their pets and children…
It’s easy to criticize many federal and state governmental agencies but far and away the ones that constantly receive the most public support are the ones related to the outdoors. This is due to their documented and ongoing success in managing our ecosystems and maintaining wildlife populations while preserving opportunities for sportsmen to participate in hunting and fishing activities.
It’s a hard balance to strike and no one wants there to be a free for all where any and all animals are fair game year round, which is why there are already strict laws about how many of what animals can be taken with what methods in which specific areas. These problems are already accounted for when agencies determine the number of tags allotted for each species each year. It’s my belief that many people who vote against state agency’s control of hunting and fishing don’t realize the detailed and constantly evolving work they do and simply believe that any random hunter who wants to go and take a deer, or elk, or mountain lion, can purchase a cheap tag and start blasting away.
They also undervalue or are unaware of the amount of money that is raised for environmental protections through the purchase of hunting equipment thanks to the Pittman-Robertson Act, which allocates an 11% excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment. This directly funds billions of dollars worth of projects to restore, conserve, and manage wildlife and their habitats. Not to mention, people eat mountain lion… it’s not strictly about fur.
If Prop 127 goes the way it’s currently angled, it’s nothing but a resounding success for the outdoors community and should be celebrated as such.
Great job, Colorado. I’m proud of you for this one.
