SB-031 The Banning of Bobcat, Mountain Lion and Lynx harvest.
I am writing to oppose SB22-031, which seeks to ban the harvest of any wildcats, with a limited number of exceptions.
I support science-based wildlife management. This type of management involves integrating scientific information to help achieve the goals and objectives set by our fish and game agencies. By monitoring, science can help set the baseline by recording the abundance of fish and game through time. Hunting, fishing, and trapping provide wildlife biologists with much-needed data.
I support ethical hunting and trapping. Science-based management that includes hunting, is partially responsible for the successful reintroduction of certain species such as the Lynx. Banning ethical hunters would become a missing tool of science-based wildlife management.
I oppose SB-031 because banning the harvest of wildcats would take away the monitoring of ethical sportsmen. Outdoorsmen's reasonable harvest over multiple decades has prospered all species. SB-O31 moves away from a scientific means of conserving Colorados' wildlife.
SB-O31 would ban the ethical harvest of the Bobcat, Lynx, and Mountain Lion. From the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website; "Reintroduced lynx have been monitored by the CPW for over a decade to track the population’s progress toward reaching these benchmarks. As of summer 2010, all benchmarks for successful lynx reintroduction have been met. " This success was accomplished in part by hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses. At what point in the banning ethical harvest of certain species, does the funding of the outdoorsman cease? As there is less introduction to the natural world through fishing and hunting, how long before we regress into ignorant and harmful practices to bio-diversity?
I oppose SB-031 because of the bills' punitive and unreasonable penalties. A person that violates the bill is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $500 to $2,000 or up to one year in jail, an assessment of 20 hunting license suspension points, and civil restitution of $700 for a mountain lion or bobcat and $1,000 for a Canada lynx. Upon conviction, the commission may suspend the person's hunting license for up to 5 years. Is this reasonable in a state that has legalized pot and is very lenient in its bail and sentencing laws?
Roger Miller
979 Bayfield Way
Colorado Springs, Co 80906
