Colorado Ballot Initiative 91 Makes the November 2024 Ballot

Colorado is at the center of a heated debate over wildlife management, sparked by Initiative 91 (this number will change once the ballot is certified). This initiative, seeking to ban the hunting of large cats, including mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx, recently was deemed to have collected enough signatures to appear on Colorado’s November ballot. This initiative is concerning to conservation groups and hunters, including the Boone and Crockett Club. We believe that such measures undermine science-based wildlife management.

The ballot measure has many flaws beyond just banning hunting of these animals. The measure includes banning the hunting of the lynx. The lynx is a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and has been on Colorado’s own Endangered Species List since 1973, hence no hunting or trapping of lynx can occur. Including this species in the proposed initiative indicates a broader agenda, which is less about specific conservation goals and more about advancing an anti-hunting philosophy.

The implications of banning large cat hunting in Colorado are profound. Removing hunting as a management tool could lead to ecological imbalance, resulting in overpopulation and subsequent degradation. However, the use of ballot initiatives to make wildlife management decisions is even more troubling.

The Boone and Crockett Club believes it is unwise to make complex wildlife management decisions through popular vote, rather than relying on the expertise of professional wildlife managers and thoughtful review by appointed boards or commissions. Effective wildlife management requires a nuanced understanding of ecological systems, something that is often lost in emotionally charged public debates and in public relations campaigns that oversimplify the conversation.

In early July, the initiative’s proponents, primarily anti-hunting organizations, submitted petitions with 188,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot. The signatures were collected by both volunteers and professional collectors. The Colorado Secretary of State's office reviewed the signatures and on July 31 announced the proponents had met the legal threshold of 124,238 signatures.

As the debate continues, the Boone and Crockett Club encourages you to visit Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better, an issue committee created to oppose this attack, for more information. As is typically the case, our own professional members are leading the charge on this critical issue.

In the end, this controversy underscores the need for informed, professional input in wildlife management decisions. The stakes are high, and the outcomes of such initiatives could have lasting consequences for Colorado's wildlife and hunters.