Colorado Campaign Launches to Enshrine Hunting and Fishing Rights

By Keith Lusher • Published June 3, 2026

A campaign is underway to place a constitutional amendment before Colorado voters this November that would permanently protect the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife in the state. Backers say the measure is urgently needed to shield long-standing traditions and the wildlife management system that funds them from shifting political winds.

The T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance announced the launch of Initiative 302, which would add a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife across all species managed by the state. The initiative received unanimous approval from the state’s Title Board, and supporters have until August 28 to gather the required signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The measure preserves the full regulatory authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the state legislature, requiring only that regulations be “reasonable and necessary for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities.”

“This measure is intended to provide constitutional clarity and long-term protection for those practices, consistent with science-based wildlife management,” said Luke Hilgemann, CEO of the International Order of T. Roosevelt and campaign chairman.

Colorado’s nearly one million licensed anglers are part of a sportsmen community that provides 58 percent of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s annual funding

Colorado’s 300,000-plus hunters and nearly one million anglers generate an estimated $3.25 billion in annual economic impact and support more than 25,000 jobs statewide. That same community funds CPW itself: licenses, passes, fees, and permits account for 58 percent of the agency’s annual revenue, supplemented by nearly $25 million in federal Pittman-Robertson Act funds in fiscal year 2025.

The initiative comes amid growing friction between Colorado’s sportsmen community and recent CPW Commission appointments by Governor Jared Polis. Critics argue recent appointees have prioritized animal-rights concerns over science-based management. In April, the state Senate rejected two Polis nominees, citing insufficient qualifications for sportsmen-designated seats.

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program has added to tensions, with 2025 depredation compensation payments to ranchers exceeding $1.07 million, far surpassing the dedicated fund.

“It’s a crying shame that rural folks in Colorado have to resort to a ballot initiative to protect the traditions that Colorado was founded on,” said Rick Enstrom, past chairman of the Colorado Wildlife Commission.

Supporters of Initiative 302 say a constitutional amendment is needed to protect hunting traditions that generate $3.25 billion annually for the state’s economy and fund the majority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s budget. (Stacey Haden/USFWS)

Twenty-four states have already enacted similar constitutional protections, a movement that began in Alabama in 1996. Florida voters approved a comparable amendment in 2024, and Hilgemann says leaders in a dozen additional states have since reached out about pursuing their own measures.

Animal welfare groups argue the amendment is unnecessary and could elevate hunting and fishing above other wildlife management approaches. Wolf and Wildlife Advocates said it would lock “one tool into the state constitution” above habitat protection and ecological science.

Proponents counter that CPW retains full regulatory authority under the amendment, and that anchoring management decisions to scientific standards strengthens, rather than weakens, conservation in Colorado.

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