Wildlife management should be informed by science, not a free-for-all of public opinion. Wildlife around the world has benefitted greatly from science-based management decisions.

Unfortunately, biologists and management agencies can be easily bypassed in two ways:

• Through politicians imposing the will of their backers via legislation.

• Through ballot initiatives, or, “ballot biology.”

Both can happen at any time, but the latter is easier to keep tabs on — as long as you look at your ballots before voting season.

Note: Even if you are a supporter of what a politician or a ballot initiative might change for wildlife, both methods should always be recognized as dangers to science-based wildlife management.

This year, Denver-based Davis Tent is giving a lot of their time and money to fight Colorado Ballot Initiative 91.

The ballot initiative bypasses the ability of wildlife agencies to use hunters as a wildlife management tool — specifically mountain lions and bobcats. The language of the ballot initiative removes the use of science-based wildlife management on large cats in Colorado. Davis Tent is working with Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management (CRWM, a CO-based 501c4) to get word out to conservationists to fight this bypassing of science-based wildlife management.

We spoke with Davis Tent’s owner, Will Marquardt, about the challenges of fighting “ballot biology.” He said that one of the hardest things is that these ballot initiatives land right in the middle of hunting season.

As a demographic, hunters are well known to be in the woods and totally checked-out by September… and all the way through November.

Ballot biology happens because hunters allow it to happen: Most hunters are just hunters. Few are hunter-conservationists.

If a majority of hunters gave 1% of their time and 1% of their money to wildlife conservation, ballot biology would not happen so often. The voting block would consistently land on the side of science. Sadly, this would still be true if the average hunter only gave to conservation 1% of the time and money that they put into the activity of hunting, much less over the whole year.

We exist to move the needle in a positive direction for wildlife.

Our members are passionate about supporting science-based wildlife conservation and are deserving of patronage from all conservationists — not just hunters and anglers. The future of wildlife management depends on it!

Do something about it:

• Visit the Davis Tent 2% Profile

• Read Colorado Ballot Initiative 91

• Learn more about CRWM