Two Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioners, Jessica Beaulieu and Jack Murphy, were sued by Safari Club and the Sportsmen’s Alliance for violating open meetings laws. The state of Colorado has now reached a settlement with the groups after Beaulieu and Murphy penned an opinion piece supporting a ballot measure that would have banned “trophy hunting” of mountain lions, bobcat and lynx.

The words, confirmed by the Colorado Sun, were written by Julie Marshall, the public relations director for Animal Wellness Action, the proponents of Proposition 127. According to Marshall, former CPW commissioner James Pribyl offered “expert and wise” editing and was the third signature on the letter.

Pribyl was at the center of an open meetings violation in 2012 that also resulted in a lawsuit brought against the commission by a coalition of off-road vehicle groups. The groups claimed Pribyl emailed other commissioners about commission business, called and emailed other commissioners, and participated in a roundtable meeting that was closed to the public.

The groups clarified that drones are not allowed during hunting per the commission’s own rules, lion hunts do not guarantee a 100% success rate but rather about 20%, and wild cats are involved in human conflict, as per Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports.

According to reporting by Marianne Goodland, commissioners had been warned just a week prior to the letter’s publication in the Durango Herald, against speaking publicly about commission business. The commission, at the time, was working on the Eastern Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan.

This is not the first time Beaulieu has been at the center of unwanted attention. Her appointment was sent by the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to the full Senate without a favorable recommendation. Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Summit County, is the chair of the committee and represents the Senate District most adversely affected by the wolf depredations, voted against Beaulieu.

Roberts told The Fence Post, “The people of Colorado should be able to trust that state agencies like CPW are being guided by science and fact-based decision making, and that their leadership is not influenced by politics or activism. While I respect everyone’s first amendment rights, I’m disappointed to see some CPW commissioners put their personal ideologies over their oaths as commissioners.”

Beaulieu admitted that she hadn’t visited any state parks outside the Front Range prior to her appointment as a state parks representative, nor had she ever purchased a state parks pass. In response to her admitting she asked Department of Natural Resources leadership which stakeholders she ought to introduce herself to, Roberts said having knowledge of the stakeholders a commissioner is tasked with representing is a prerequisite to nomination.

NO VIOLATION

CPW spokesman Travis Duncan said no violation of open meetings laws occurred.

Part of the settlement reached requires CPW commissioners to complete training on requirements and best practices in communication and current open meetings laws as well as training on current Colorado law governing the take of mountain lion, bobcat and lynx.

The Senate Agriculture Committee sent three confirmations to the full Senate for Chair Dallas May, Commissioner Jay Tutchton, Commissioner Tai Jacober and Commissioner Murphy Robinson. Jacober, Robinson and May carried favorable recommendations with them and were passed by the Senate by unanimous vote, save for Jacober who drew one nay vote from Chair Roberts for failure to cast a vote in favor of the petition to pause releases brought to the commission by Western Slope groups.

Tutchton, who drew fire for his “whining and pandering politicians” comment at the March CPW commission meeting, was also questioned about influence from the Gov. Jared Polis’s office and his apparent disdain for agriculture and hunting. Tutchton was also faced with concerns about a conflict of interest as he manages the Southern Plains Land Trust, of which CPW is a funder. Tutchton was confirmed on a 21-13 vote with two Democrats voting against him.