Bad

Bad-news bears big issue

Jan. 22, 2002

At the end of our first full week of work in Denver, of all the issues — the declining economy, cutting spending, transportation, growth, education, etc. — the most contentious issue was, you guessed it, bears. Senator Lew Entz’s bill on shortening the time during which bears cannot be hunted attracted, by far, the most attention. His bill would reduce this time period by a month and a half. The ban on hunting would run from March 1 through July 15 under Lew’s bill rather than through Sept. 1. Nine years ago voters banned hunting from March 1 to Sept. 1 by voting on a statutory change (not a constitutional change). The arguments of those for the bill centered on the "bear problems" around towns and homes that we have seen in towns like Durango. Since I am chairman of the Ag Committee my colleagues and I initially heard the bill.

I voted for it and it passed through the committee and now goes to the floor of the Senate. I have always felt that decisions that require technical expertise should be in the hands of those trained to make them. Thus, I voted the way I did to allow the Colorado Division of Wildlife more leeway in making their decisions. We are not changing the bear hunting season — we are just giving the DOW the flexibility they need to establish earlier seasons in problem areas should they so choose. They have the expertise and training and responsibility for establishing the hunting seasons. I have always felt that decisions by professional groups should be in the hands of those trained to solve those issues.

For example, I feel that the state (CCHE) should not be involved in micro-managing higher education. Likewise, I believe that local school boards, who have the expertise to solve local problems, should have control over their schools, not the state.

A lot has changed in terms of bear populations since the statewide vote in 1992 and this change gives the DOW another tool to use in meeting bear management issues. If the bill passes and is signed into law, we will need to watch the DOW and see how they use this flexibility.

I introduced my very first bill, which had to do with allowing the liquor industry to make contributions to institutions of higher learning. It was amended twice but passed through committee. This bill clarifies existing law and practice and just allows the liquor industry to be treated just like any other business. It felt good to get my first bill passed.

A bill was introduced to set salaries for elected county officials. Among them was the county coroner. This may not sound like a big issue except that some counties (San Juan, Dolores, San Miguel, Ouray, Archuleta) do not use a coroner enough to justify having one on a full-time basis. This is a big issue with small counties because they just don’t have the financial ability to pay a full-time salary. In spite of my efforts and my "no" vote, the bill passed through committee. I am drafting an amendment to allow counties to contract out the coroner’s duties on a case-by-case basis. By the way, the State’s responsibility for setting these salaries is written into our state constitution! Another example of the state getting involved in issues better solved at the local level.

We also worked on and got through committee a bill to clean up the language in Irrigation District law. This bill does not negatively affect our local districts such as the Pine River Irrigation District north of Bayfield.

Keep in touch!

Jim Isgar is a state senator from La Plata County. He can be reached in La Plata County at (970) 385-7664, or at the Capitol in Denver at (303) 866-4884 or e-mail at isgar1@outerbounds.net.