June 18, 2009

Habitat Stamp No Longer Required for Birding, etc.

Not any more.
In January 2006 I blogged about the new requirement for all visitors to Colorado state wildlife areas to buy a Division of Wildlife "habitat stamp," a requirement that I figured would be largely unenforced.

Now the state has switched positions. No more stamp is needed, unless you are actively hunting or fishing. "New state legislation has redesigned the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Protection Program that provides funding for wildlife habitat conservation," says the news release.

Some birders have not yet gotten the message, but it should filter out through CoBirds, etc. And as SeEtta points out in that post, buying helps pay for search and rescue if you need to be searched for or rescued.

3 comments:

mdmnm said...

I go back and forth about that sort of thing, but generally think that it's better if "nonconsumptive users" pay a bit and are thereby more invested in land management and providing for Depts. of Wildlife.

Holly Heyser said...

I don't mind consumptive users paying more, but I agree that non-consumptive users should pay as well.

There are about 23 million Americans who watch wildlife away from home. Not as many as the 34 million hunters and anglers, but their contributions would certainly help.

Chas S. Clifton said...

I agree with both of you, but I suspected that enforcement was not a priority.