The right to hunt and fish in Garfield County was at the top of the Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) agenda on Monday, April 13. The meeting was short and devoid of public comment, which allowed the BOCC to jump right into the agenda. 

First up, Commissioner Perry Will offered a resolution to protect the right to hunt and fish in the county. Will said that 24 states have a constitutional right to hunt and fish, and Colorado isn’t one of them. Will added that all states surrounding Colorado are on the list, but, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures, New Mexico is not. However, New Mexico’s constitution does include the right to bear arms for lawful hunting. 

Will said that he’d like to see all the other counties in Colorado adopt the same kind of resolution and that Garfield County could be “the tip of the spear” on this issue. Commissioner Mike Samson said he’d take the resolution to the upcoming Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado meeting. 

Will mentioned another section of the resolution that included access to public lands based on the county’s 2020 Public Lands Resource Coordination Plan and Policies. But he did not mention how the resolution supports the principle that hunting, fishing and trapping are the “primary and preferred methods of wildlife population management, conducted in accordance with sound science and established conservation practices.” The BOCC approved the resolution unanimously.

Will took another few minutes to draw the BOCC’s attention to two new Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) commissioners, Dr. John Emerick and Chris Sichko, PhD, who are up for confirmation later this month. Will said that he opposes the appointments and has talked to state senators about the two men. 

Will’s gripe is how the CPW Commission voted in March, against CPW staff recommendations, to advance a petition that could ban the commercial sale of fur from 17 furbearing species in Colorado. The vote was 6-4, with Commission Chair Richard Reading and commissioners Jessica Beaulieu, Jay Tutchton, Jack Murphy, Eden Vardy  and Emerick voting yes. Sichko has not yet started attending meetings. 

Will said that in his 40-year career with CPW, he had never seen its commission vote against CPW staff recommendations. After his time with CPW, however, in July 2025, the commission did just that, when agency staff recommended against compensating more than $138,000 to two ranchers for livestock deaths due to wolf predation. The commission voted to award the ranchers. 

Will was also one of several state senators in 2023 who objected to the confirmations of current CPW Commissioner Gabriel Otero and now-Chair Reading. “More and more, the [agricultural] community and the sportsmen community feel like they are not being represented on the commission,” Will said during their confirmation hearings.

On Monday, Will added that Governor Polis is “loading the commission” with specific appointments and “pushing his agenda.” The BOCC gave direction for county staff to craft a letter, opposing the confirmation of Emerick and Sichko.

South Bridge

The BOCC approved a letter to the City of Glenwood Springs requesting that the city submit a 1041 application for the South Bridge Project. During the March 16 BOCC meeting, commissioners voiced concern that the city had not submitted the permit application for the portion of the project that will be on county land.  

The county also posted a press release on March 18 about the matter, warning of legal action if the city did not comply. 

“Key benefits of 1041 regulations include our ability to review projects that have a substantial impact on local water, wildlife and other natural resources or environmental standards,” County Attorney Heather Beattie explained. “Also, 1041 regulations permit the review of impacts on local transportation needs and development impacts on agriculture.”  

Beattie mentioned an additional letter that she will send to the city, explaining the legal reasons why the county is asking for a 1041 permit. Through a Colorado Open Records Act request, The Sopris Sun obtained a copy of that letter, which was addressed to Jason Smith, director of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Nate Hunt, counsel for the city. 

In it, Beattie provides a detailed explanation about events leading up to the current impasse, adding that in February CDOT sent a letter to the county stating that the city did not have to comply with the county’s 1041 regulations. Two days later, according to the letter, the county received a letter from the city, pointing to the CDOT letter. Beattie’s letter provides a detailed legal analysis of why the county needs the 1041.

Bryana Starbuck, communications and engagement officer for the City of Glenwood Springs, told The Sopris Sun in an email that the city submitted a letter to the county on March 31 about filing a Location and Extent application for the project. “City Council has not yet had an opportunity to review or discuss the county’s letter from April 13,” she wrote. “City staff plans to discuss the letter and timing of a response with City Council as part of the executive session on April 16.” 

The commissioners also approved new county wastewater treatment regulations among other things. 

You can find archived BOCC meetings at the Garfield County website.