We Support the Right to
Hunt and Fish
Colorado’s Amendment 83
Executive Summary
The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project supports Amendment 83, Colorado's Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment.
Hunting and fishing are longstanding traditional practices that connect people to our landscapes, provide healthy and sustainable food sources for families, and are deeply woven into the social and cultural fabric of Colorado. They also play an essential role in supporting our wildlife conservation system, public lands network, and local economies. For generations, hunters and anglers have helped fund wildlife management, habitat restoration, public access, species recovery, and outdoor recreation opportunities that benefit all Coloradans. Coloradans do not have to hunt or fish to benefit from wildlife management, habitat conservation, and outdoor access this system supports.
Amendment 83 recognizes the value that hunting and fishing provide to Colorado’s citizenry and wildlife populations. Amendment 83 will preserve the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to responsibly manage wildlife through science-based regulation.
This amendment affirms a value that has long been part of Colorado's outdoor heritage while ensuring that professional wildlife managers and Colorado Parks and Wildlife retain the tools necessary to conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats for future generations.
Why This Matters
Colorado's wildlife conservation success is the result of a proven partnership, and trust between anglers, hunters, wildlife professionals, private landowners, conservation organizations, and the public.
For more than a century, hunters and anglers have been among the strongest advocates for wildlife conservation. Their support helped establish the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a system that treats wildlife as a public resource managed through science, law, and public involvement. This model is one of the most successful conservation systems in the world and has contributed to the recovery and conservation of iconic Colorado species including elk, wild turkey, river otter, peregrine falcon, cutthroat trout, and Canada lynx, while protecting millions of acres of habitat.
Today, hunting and fishing remain central to a modern, meaningful, and healthy lifestyle for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans and their families. Hunters, anglers, and organizations representing them provide a significant source of project funding and volunteer capacity through license sales, habitat stamps, federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing tackle, and motorboat fuels, and individual donations. These investments support wildlife conservation programs that benefit both game and non-game species across the state.
Hunting and fishing also contribute over $3.25 billion annually to Colorado's economy and support more than 25,000 jobs across every county in our state. The economic impact of hunting and fishing is particularly important in rural communities where outdoor recreation and conservation are closely tied to local livelihoods.
What Amendment 83 Does
Affirms Colorado's Legal, Ethical, Regulated Hunting and Fishing Opportunities for All
Amendment 83 recognizes current legal methods for hunting, fishing, and harvesting fish and wildlife and directs the state to regulate these endeavors to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities statewide, for all who may wish to learn and experience these unique ways of connecting to nature and harvesting wild food now or in the future.
Preserves Science-Based Wildlife Management
Amendment 83 explicitly preserves the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to regulate hunting and fishing through setting season dates, licensing requirements, bag limits, and methods of take. Wildlife populations will continue to be managed using the best available science and biological expertise. . These investments also support healthy landscapes, resilient wildlife populations, and outdoor opportunities enjoyed by Coloradans who may never hunt or fish
Protects a Proven Conservation Model
The amendment reinforces the principles that have made wildlife conservation in North America one of the world's most successful conservation systems: public ownership of wildlife, responsible use of natural resources, sustained collective investment, and professional wildlife management guided by science.
Supports Conservation and Public Access
Amendment 83 reinforces the important, consistent role hunters and anglers play in conserving wildlife and funding habitat improvement, species recovery, wildlife research, and public access programs that benefit all Coloradans.
Our Position
The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project supports Amendment 83 because it strengthens Colorado's conservation legacy while preserving our science-based wildlife management system and supporting communities with long-term assurance that fishing and hunting will continue to be part of their economies and an option for feeding Colorado families.
The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project aims to ensure that anyone who wishes to seek the knowledge, skills, freedom, food, and community that fishing and hunting uniquely provide will have the opportunity to do so in the future. Protecting that choice is of great importance to our members, as extreme activists continue to pursue policies that would eliminate such choices.
The amendment recognizes the essential contributions hunters and anglers make to wildlife conservation, state and local economies, and Colorado's outdoor heritage. Just as importantly, it maintains the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to manage fish and wildlife populations responsibly for the benefit of current and future generations.
Colorado's remarkable conservation successes to-date have been achieved through stewardship, sound science, and sustained investment in wildlife and habitat. Amendment 83 helps ensure that this conservation legacy continues for generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Amendment 83?
Amendment 83 would add the right to hunt and fish to the Colorado Constitution and appears on Colorado’s November 2026 ballot. It protects Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) authority to regulate hunting and fishing based on science. It must get 55% of the vote to pass.
The full text in four short parts (new Section 13 of Article XVIII)
(1) There is established a right of the people of Colorado to hunt, fish, and take fish and wildlife. The right includes hunting, fishing, and harvesting fish and wildlife by the use of traditional methods. The right applies to all species of fish and wildlife managed by the state except nongame species, endangered species, or any species that is illegal to hunt under federal law.
(2) The policy of the state of Colorado is that hunting and fishing are the preferred means of responsibly managing fish and wildlife populations.
(3) This section is not intended to authorize trespass upon private property or to modify any provision of statutes relating to trespass or property rights.
(4) This section does not limit the authority of an agency of the state of Colorado or the General Assembly to regulate hunting, fishing, and wildlife management if the law is necessary for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities for all species statewide.
In plain terms, Amendment 83:
Makes hunting and fishing a constitutional right.
Names hunting and fishing as the preferred (not the only) way to manage fish and wildlife populations.
Maintains CPW and legislative authority to set seasons, limits, licenses and methods based on science and safety.
Does not apply to nongame or endangered species.
Does not allow trespassing or change private property rights.
Why should you vote yes on Amendment 83?
Adding the right to hunt and fish to the constitution reflects our lasting, shared values and our continuing commitment to uphold responsible, science-based wildlife management and allow Coloradans to sustainably harvest wild food. Once the right to hunt and fish is in the constitution, it can only be changed by Colorado voters, and it takes 55% to do it. This provides hunting, fishing, and science-based management a stable foundation.
Amendment 83 will provide Colorado with the same stable foundation that 24 other states already have in place to protect our hunting and fishing heritage.
It leaves wildlife management decisions in the hands of CPW's trained biologists and the citizen Commission, rather than leaving them vulnerable to politics or well-funded campaigns.
What does a “no” vote mean?
A no vote leaves things as they are today. Hunting and fishing stay legal under current law, and CPW keeps managing wildlife the same way.
The difference is what happens next. Without constitutional protection, wildlife management, hunting, and fishing remain open to political lobbying and campaigning. These divisive ballot campaigns are costly, separate policy from the people most affected by it and result in wildlife management decisions that are not supported by science.
Who benefits from Amendment 83?
You don't have to hunt or fish to benefit from the land and water conservation, habitat improvement, and public access opportunities that hunters and anglers help fund. Amendment 83 is for:
Coloradans who care about wildlife habitat. Hunter and angler dollars fund habitat conservation, species recovery, and public access for recreation across the state. Amendment 83 will help keep that funding stream strong and reliable for decades to come.
Future Coloradans. Our kids and grandkids should have the opportunity to learn about fish, wildlife, and Colorado’s wild places through hunting and fishing, if they choose. Amendment 83 will protect their choice.
Hunters, anglers and their families. Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans hunt and fish, and many rely on the healthy wild food they can sustainably source from our environment.
Rural economies. Hunting and fishing contribute over $6.25 billion a year to the state's economy and support more than 45,000 jobs. Spending by hunters and anglers impacts every county in Colorado and has a disproportionate benefit in rural communities.
Coloradans who want steady, science-based wildlife management. It protects CPW's professional management from political pendulum swings.
Will Amendment 83 bring back banned trapping methods or bear baiting?
No. Amendment 83 will not repeal or change any existing Colorado law. It does not mention trapping, baiting or any specific method. The passage of this amendment will codify hunting and fishing as they're practiced legally today. It will not overturn statewide, voter approved prohibitions on leghold trapping or spring bear hunting. Importantly, it will constitutionally protect CPW's and the legislature's authority to manage our shared wildlife resources.
In 1992, Colorado voters approved Amendment 10 to ban bear baiting and spring bear hunting in Colorado statute. In 1996, voters passed Amendment 14 to ban leghold traps, poisons, snares in the state constitution. Amendment 83 does not undo either of these measures. Part (4) of Amendment 83 also keeps the state's full authority to regulate hunting methods for sound science and public safety.
Will Amendment 83 open the door to a flood of lawsuits?
That's not what other states have seen, and that is not what we expect in Colorado. In fact, if Amendment 83 passes, Colorado may benefit from a decrease in frivolous lawsuits from extreme animal rights organizations.
Twenty-four states already protect hunting and fishing in their constitutions, some for decades. Those protections have produced very few court cases, and existing wildlife rules have almost entirely remained unchanged by the constitutional amendments.
Any law, statute, or constitutional amendment can be challenged in court, and no one can promise zero lawsuits. But Amendment 83 is written to limit that risk. It expressly preserves the state's power to regulate for science, safety, and the future of hunting and fishing.
The map below is provided as part of a two-part report on the economic impact of hunting and fishing in Colorado. The report is researched and written by Common Sense Institute Colorado.
Are there risks to Colorado's wildlife if Amendment 83 doesn't pass?
Yes, particularly to wildlife and habitat conservation funding. Hunters and anglers fund much of Colorado's wildlife conservation through license sales, habitat stamps, donations, and federal grants funded by excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing tackle and motorboat fuel. That money supports habitat, research, and the recovery of all wildlife.
When hunting and fishing opportunities shrink due to socio-politically-based restrictions, funding shrinks with them. Protecting hunting and fishing keeps CPW's funding continuous and predictable, so it can keep managing every species well.
How does Amendment 83 affect wildlife that isn't hunted or fished?
It doesn't change how those species are protected. The language specifically states that the right to hunt and fish does not apply to nongame species or endangered species. For example, songbirds, raptors, lynx and other protected wildlife will remain fully protected under state and federal law.
Those species still benefit, though. Hunting and fishing dollars pay for the habitat and research they depend on, and helped recover Colorado species like the river otter, peregrine falcon and Canada lynx.
Will Amendment 83 lead to increased harvest?
No. CPW will still set all season dates, bag limits, and license quotas based on population science. Amendment 83 does not create any new season or raise any limit.
Would Amendment 83 require hunting every species that isn't endangered?
No. Amendment 83 names hunting and fishing as the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations, not the only means. CPW's professionals will continue to use every tool they have: habitat work, relocation, disease management, research, and conflict reduction.
Under Amendment 83, CPW will keep regulating hunting and fishing based on science, just as it does now. Amendment 83 protects that professional, science-based approach from political swings.
Do we also need amendments to protect skiing, hiking or biking?
No. Hunting and fishing are different in three ways:
They are a wildlife management tool. CPW relies on regulated hunting and fishing to keep wildlife populations healthy and in balance with their habitat. Skiing and hiking don't play that role.
They pay for conservation. Hunting and fishing licenses, plus federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing gear, fund most of CPW's wildlife work, including work on species that are never hunted.
Wildlife management has been under threat repeatedly. No one is running campaigns to ban skiing.
Which Colorado conservation, hunting, and fishing organizations support Amendment 83?
The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project (CWCP), the state's foremost broad-based coalition of hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation organizations, supports Amendment 83.
Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project's member organizations:
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the Colorado BHA Chapter
Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management
Colorado Bowhunters Association
Colorado Outfitters Association
Colorado State Muzzle Loading Association
Colorado Trappers & Predator Hunters Association
Colorado Wildlife Federation
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
Delta Waterfowl
Ducks Unlimited
Gunnison Wildlife Association
Mule Deer Foundation
Muley Fanatic Foundation
National Wild Turkey Federation (Colorado State Chapter)
National Wildlife Federation
Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Safari Club International
Sportsmen For Community
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
United Houndsmen of Colorado
How can I support Amendment 83?
Contributions can be made to Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better at this link.
SOURCES CITED IN FAQ
CO Secretary of State, Final text of Initiative 302/Amendment 83
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, The 2023 Economic Contributions of Outdoor Recreation in Colorado.
Colorado SOS, results for 1992 Amendment 10 re. Bear Hunting
Colorado SOS, results for 1996 Amendment 14 re. Prohibited Methods of Taking Wildlife
National Conference of State Legislatures brief on State Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish