Tyler Sewald

This Habitat Conservation and Connectivity Plan outlines a strategic approach to identify and prioritize geographic areas for wildlife conservation and habitat restoration across Colorado. It develops Habitat Priority, Habitat Intactness, and Habitat Conservation and Restoration Landscapes models to define priority wildlife species, landscapes, and movement corridors. The plan aims to focus efforts on high-priority watersheds to achieve greater conservation outcomes, ensuring healthy and sustainable wildlife populations and ecosystems through targeted actions of protection, defense, and restoration.

The commission addressed several regulatory matters, including the adoption of wolverine damage regulations and the creation of a new Chapter W-7 for herpetofauna. Key actions included the approval of 2026 non-motorized trails grant funding, a decision on a petition to prohibit the sale of furbearer furs, and the denial of a petition requesting mandatory checks for bobcats, swift fox, and beaver. The commission also handled a livestock owner's appeal regarding a depredation permit and authorized the purchase of land for the Barr Lake State Park project following an executive session.

This 10-year strategic plan for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) outlines the agency's direction from 2026-2036, focusing on four core goals: fostering resilient ecosystems and exceptional experiences, enhancing agency relevance and trust, promoting organizational and workforce health, and ensuring financial resilience and innovation. The plan will be realized through six key actions including strengthening strategic partnerships, enhancing proactive engagement and communication, empowering employees and unifying agency culture, optimizing resources and processes, integrating adaptive planning, and advancing through innovation and leadership. This roadmap aims to inspire people to actively protect Colorado's natural resources, ensuring their health and availability for everyone, and contributing to a flourishing future for all people, places, and ecosystems.

This document outlines the development and approval process for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Strategic Plan 2026-2036. It details the planning, engagement, development, and refinement phases, concluding with the final plan approval. Key updates highlighted include emphasizing contributions from hunters, anglers, private landowners, and volunteers, and adding new content related to development challenges and the CPW Ecosystem Graphic.

The commission meeting covered the election process for chair and vice chair positions. The primary focus was the Wolf Program update, featuring a review of the annual report on grey wolf reintroduction, population monitoring, and biological data including pup counts and survival rates. Additionally, the meeting addressed conflict minimization strategies, the expansion of the Range Rider program, and case studies on pack activity and livestock interaction in urban-rural interface areas.