Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez is going green. Today his campaign announced “The Colorado Habitat Initiative,” which a press release says “is Bob Beauprez’s action plan to provide off-site wildlife habitat mitigation, acre-for-acre, by creating a public- private fund seeded with state severance tax dollars.”
Click below for the full release…
Gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez today announced a major initiative to protect wildlife habitat in energy impacted areas of Colorado, specifically on the Western Slope.
“I believe we must take immediate and meaningful steps to protect Colorado’s wildlife and the habitat that sustains it,” said Beauprez. “This morning, I am announcing the Colorado Habitat Initiative, which is my plan to ensure our magnificent wildlife herds still have a place to flourish and thrive, and our sportsmen can pass on Colorado’s hunting heritage to the next generation.”
The Colorado Habitat Initiative is Bob Beauprez’s action plan to provide off-site wildlife habitat mitigation, acre-for-acre, by creating a public- private fund seeded with state severance tax dollars.
“While the state can, and under my administration will, dedicate severance taxes for wildlife habitat, we must also ask our friends in the energy industry to join us in this effort,” continued Beauprez. “As Governor, I will challenge the energy industry to partner with the State of Colorado-and four years from now, I believe we can be making a meaningful difference for energy-impacted wildlife habitat to the tune of perhaps tens of millions of dollars.”
In the past decade the number of drilling permits issued by the state has risen sharply in Northwest Colorado, causing concern about the habitat available for the country’s largest elk and mule deer herds. The Colorado Habitat Initiative will help provide balance between energy development and the needs of wildlife.
Beauprez was joined in his announcement by local sportsmen including Rep. Josh Penry, who is running for State Senate in District 7.
“I believe my action plan to protect energy-impacted wildlife habitat is one based on common-sense,” said Beauprez. “It is practical, it is meaningful, and it is the right thing to do.”
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I haven’t seen any previously. I wonder what Both Ways says about drilling impacts on sensitive areas like the Roan Plateau…
the amount of acres is very subjective. does he plan to have the acres that are physically disturbed be counted in the mitigation process, or does he plan to count the amount of acres on which wildlife MAY be disturbed by the amount of increased activity? and is he planning to do this for federal lands or split estate lands, or both?
many believe wildlife adapt to the increased activity, but as beauprez seemingly recognizes hunters will not. where will the mitigated lands be? will they be in prime hunting areas or out of the way wastelands? this plan SOUNDS great, but there are a lot of questions to be asked and i am betting it will be exposed as simply sounding great.
on the other hand, WHERE IS RITTER? calling for renewable energy sources will only go so far. it certainly wont slow the feds from leasing out every mineral right they have available in colorado and everywhere else in the west. where is the dancing candidate? i sure hate to vote for a candidate simply because the other one self-imploded.
the other thing i forgot to mention: where will hunters find to stay? hotels get booked solid with drill rig workers due to rapid energy development, as opposed to booked yearly by religious hunters.
Wasn’t it Bob Beauprez that was endorsed by Anti-Tax crusader Doug Bruce? Wasn’t it Beauprez who had initially said that he would support Initiative #38. After getting the Republican nomination, wasn’t it Beauprez who changed his mind on 38? Wasn’t it Beauprez who on one-hand opposes taxes and then changes his mind and now supports using Severance Tax dollars to fund government expansion.
Will it be a 50-50 split on sharing the dollars? Or will the private sector contribute 2% and government 98%? Most likely what will happen is government will end up funding the project 100% in the long run. Why? Because the private sector will demand some form of concessions. As such, they will get tax breaks to participate. Thus, the taxes born by the tax paying citizenry will increase and private industy gets a political favor.
Courtesy of Bob.
P.S.: Notice this project, like so many ideas, is lacking of details? I guess we’ll get those after the election?
What Beauprez is proposing is neither wise nor sound. First, hunters are not as affected by O/G exploration in CO as cities and counties are. Second, these taxes are not a cash fund for politicians to dip into (although it is happening more and more). Severance taxes are meant to limit the impact of where O/G companies build roads, import new workers, local law enforcement…
The severance tax in Colorado has skyrocketed over the last two years. However, CO received $115.9 million in 2004, just 1% of our total state tax collection. (as a side note, Wyoming = $683.2 million FY04, 45% of their tax collection). This money should not be spent on hunters and sportsmen, this is just another lame attempt for Beauprez to try and look like he knows what he is talking about.
http://www.ncsl.org/…
The only “GREEN” goin on with this idea is our money (i.e. tax dollars).