In an interview with the Durango Herald, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Doug Vilsack legislative liaison lobbyist told reporter Luke Perkins that CPW could start closing popular destinations like Grand Lake without more money. Here’s what Vilsack told the Herald:
“Without funding, other reservoirs could close for want of inspection stations, Vilsack said. That could include some of the largest ones in Colorado.
‘”We were talking Grand Lake,’ he said.”
In fact, CPW recently announced it would close Lemon Reservoir to motorized boats “because there was no money for boat inspections necessary to guard against the introduction of invasive species.”
What a racket.
It appears that CPW is using Washington D.C.-style tactics to wrench more money out of Coloradans’ hands. In case you’re not familiar with the Washington Monument Syndrome, it is a malady that inspires government agencies to cut the most visible or appreciated service provided by the government when faced with budget cuts. Of course, in this instance, it’s a temper tantrum because the legislature is balking at the idea that CPW would increase its hunting and fishing fees by 50 percent, not budget cuts. The term was made popular by the National Parks Service leader George Herzog in 1969 when he closed popular National Parks for two days per week after budget cuts. People complained and Congress restored his budget.
Colorado, don’t fall for this scheme. It’s a tired trick directly from Washington, D.C.