NW Region Sportsman's Roundtable Meeting

[Oak]

Be there or be square.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. - Local sportsmen and women are invited to meet and discuss hunting and fishing issues with their citizen representatives during the Northwest Region Sportsmen's Roundtable caucus, Monday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. in Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Steamboat Springs office, 725 Weiss Drive.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife formed the Sportsmen's Roundtable in 2012 in a continuing effort to provide hunters and anglers with opportunities to submit input about wildlife management decisions. Consisting of elected and appointed delegates from each of the state's four wildlife management regions, the groups collect feedback from constituents in a variety of ways, including public meetings. The input is then relayed to Colorado Parks and Wildlife's leadership at the statewide Sportsmen's Roundtable meetings, held twice each year.

"This is a way to provide comments and concerns directly to a peer rather than an agency representative, which may help some people speak a little more freely," said appointed delegate Terry Meyers of Grand Junction. "We will then take the messages directly to high-level agency representatives, where it will be considered in future management decisions."

There are a variety of topics open for discussion, including CPW's 2015 Strategic Plan, the West Slope Mule Deer Strategy, and ideas and concepts for generating revenue.

"The public's comments are a very important part of managing the state's natural resources," said CPW's Area Wildlife Manager Jim Haskins, of Steamboat Springs. "The Roundtable has been a great way to generate discussions and gather ideas from our constituents, so I invite our local sportsmen to come and meet their representatives."

Regional Sportsmen’s Caucus meetings are open to any hunter or angler who has an interest in the region in which they hunt or fish. The meetings can include any number of participants; no active hunter or angler will be excluded from the discussion.

In addition to voicing their opinions at regional meetings, members of the public can contact their local representatives directly at any time.
The next Statewide Sportsmen's Roundtable meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28, in Denver.

For more information about the Sportsmen's Roundtable, go to www.cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Roundtable.aspx

Who: Northwest Region Sportsmen's Roundtable
What: Regional Caucus meeting
When: 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 9, 2015
Where: Colorado Parks and Wildlife office, 725 Weiss Drive, Steamboat Springs

 

[1_pointer]

This will have to be me...Daddy-O.

 

[sneakem]

A great turnout.... of about 12 concerned individuals. There were almost as many DOW personnel and delegates as there were people. Funny that most residents in Colorado will whine and complain about loss of tags, inflated numbers, loss of habitat, license costs, season structures, point creep etc.... and then sit at home and do nothing about it.:W: Guess it will just change itself.....

Its like this at most meetings. To get things changed you are likely going to have to go against the legislature and lobbyist... and special interest groups with $$$$. Sportsmen in Colorado need numbers of active participants, whether at meeting or commenting to their elected officials etc. I know people are so busy with the rest of their lives but I'm sure everyone has enough time to answer public questionnaires or write a quick email every now and then to express their concerns.

To put it into perspective...You march on the capitol with a couple dozen people or flood representatives boxes with 7 emails... you're just going to get laughed at. That's basically where sportsmen in Colorado stand, we've become the laughing stock of sportsman in the country.

On a positive note.... Thanks to the guys that took the time from their busy lives to come to listen to our concerns and help us out...

 

[Oak]

So, if I start a "hunters" organization in CO, will you join? We are too issue-specific in this state.

 

[BuzzH]

Don't feel alone, its the same here in Wyoming. The last meeting I attended in Laramie in season setting a few weeks ago, 5 hunters showed up, IIRC, there were 8 GF people there.

Mind you, it was a Friday night at 6 PM...not many excuses to miss the meeting.

There is a reason why special interests are steam-rolling sportsmen in the West, this is the reason.

We're at the point now that I almost believe we just need to step away, let special interests take it all. Then when the apathetic, which is clearly 99% of the Sportsmen, wake up and realize its gone, then maybe we unite, get a majority to step up, get things back and start making a difference.

What is going on now is a handful of committed folks are expected, by the vast majority of apathetic sportsmen, to save everything for them. These few committed folks, are expected to save their seasons, save their tags, save their wildlife, fight special interests (with no money), and do it all on a voluntary basis on their own dime. That's not how the special interests go about things...and we cant be shocked we're getting handled by them either.

Sportsmen cannot expect to make needed changes by simply doing nothing or expecting others to do it for them.

 

[sneakem]

So, if I start a "hunters" organization in CO, will you join? We are too issue-specific in this state.

I would join if I felt the organization was intended to give sportsman a voice....with accepted public comment on issues... It needs to voice an overall opinion... not just those of a few... Given who is offering to start it I would likely say Yes...

To some sense, I understand that people simply cannot make it to some of the events. Especially some of those on the front range in the middle of the week. I am just as guilty of not being able to commit to those kind of activities, with work and family. I don't pass at the opportunity when its in my backyard though, and you can bet your a$$ that I email my representatives every opportunity I get.... sign petitions.... offer public comment online... donate $$$ to help wildlife.... if I have time, I'll drag the kids out and volunteer time too...

People are too concerned about fighting each other about what they feel is right or what they want...pointing fingers at each other... rather than uniting to protect what they have.... Every special interest group is well organized and well funded with a specific agenda and can pretty much hand the sportsman his disorganized a$$ at will.

The trick is finding a organization that doesn't want a piece of the pie so to speak.... but that's hard to do because of funding...being organized and effective is not cheap...

 

[Big Fin]

This gives me reason to ask a question that has come from some of the "brainstorming" sessions I have had with my son.

If Hunt Talk opened up a separate forum segment that was not part of the main forum, where any/every Rod and Gun club, every local hunter group, could have their own forum and message board for discussing their issues and posting announcements, would it be helpful to the cause of getting local/state hunters organized and collecting their voice in one location?

Almost like "cyber clubs" that will help with the consequences of traditional rod and gun clubs falling by the wayside. Maybe this idea is too far out in the weeds, but I would pay my web guys to partition the forum in such a manner, if it was a helpful thought.

I think the days of the traditional rod and gun clubs are coming to a close. My prediction is that if hunting does not find other ways to gather hunters, the same as they gather on FB or other digital technology, we will lose the value of the next generation and their advocacy for the cause.

 

[Oak]

If Hunt Talk opened up a separate forum segment that was not part of the main forum, where any/every Rod and Gun club, every local hunter group, could have their own forum and message board for discussing their issues and posting announcements, would it be helpful to the cause of getting local/state hunters organized and collecting their voice in one location?

It's an interesting idea. I would have to give it some thought whether it would benefit the groups I am involved with. It needs more discussion. I agree that orgs absolutely need to be engaged in social media these days if they don't want to dry up and blow away. It has even been suggested that I start an RMBS Twitter account. :W:

 

[sneakem]

It has even been suggested that I start an RMBS Twitter account. :W:

Might as well open an Instagram account so you can learn to hashtag too...

 

[jryoung]

I think there is definately opportunity in creating a group, arena, cyber platform where folks can list announcements, and keep others informed, or distill group concerns and deliver the message to appropriate venues.

One of the things Facebook has done is allowed people to great "groups" where you can control how much information/updates you get from the group. As opposed to a business/entity that you "follow" you get limited information.

An example of this is Hank Shaw who runs Hunter Angler Gardner Cook, his HAGC Facebook page was only reaching limited people and didn't allow for creative dialogue. So he created a Facebook Group where the group is built upon interaction of the members. Anyone can post, and the amount of posts/discussions is significant compared to his Facebook "page".

Now, how would something like this work for hunters on a state by state basis? I'm not sure. Methinks it would be dependent on folks sharing updates and information to cast a wider net and making sure people follow up with their local F&G commissions, legislators etc. etc.

Ryan Hatfield just posted a comment on his Facebook page about Oregon DFW's piss poor allocation of tags, if any to NRs. If you are friends with him, check it out. Some are hinting at the issue that outfitters have lobbied for the changes, but no one is really calling them out...instead they are blaming ODFW. I don't really know where the issue is, but the point of the matter is that it seems folks want to engage and or a bit of more information on various issues could make us more effective in communicating and dealing some of the issues that we face.

 

[1_pointer]

It's an interesting idea. I would have to give it some thought whether it would benefit the groups I am involved with. It needs more discussion. I agree that orgs absolutely need to be engaged in social media these days if they don't want to dry up and blow away. It has even been suggested that I start an RMBS Twitter account. :W:

Just put Dink and his RMBS hat on Tinder.