Update: Good news! This bill was defeated narrowly in a House committee that reviewed it.
Bill Description: This bill proposes a Constitutional amendment restricting laws that “impair” the right to hunt, fish, and trap to those specifically passed by the state Legislature. The bill also would establish public hunting, fishing, and trapping as the “preferred means” of managing wildlife. If passed, this legislation would eliminate the ability of voters to speak to wildlife management issues in the future as well as hampering the ability of the wildlife commission to oversee these issues.
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The voters have spoken to the issue of trapping by overwhelmingly passing the proposition to restrict their use on public lands. HCR 2037 seeks to substitute the judgment of a small special interest group — whose numbers are steadily declining — for that of the state wildlife agency by asserting that public hunting is the “preferred” method of managing wildlife. Adding such an overly broad statement to the constitution would tie the hands of the state wildlife managers and eliminate their ability to apply sound science to resolve issues in the future. This is in direct conflict to their responsibility as stewards of the public trust in managing wild lands and wild animals.