Wildlife commission battle “stirring people up”

Re: “Sportsmen lose a champion on CPW commission,” March 20 letter to the editor

I, too, am a lifelong hunter and angler in Colorado, and I supported Gary Skiba in his bid to be our Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioner.

I want to thank him for his letter because it highlights a serious problem within my hunting/fishing and outdoors community. He was the most qualified commissioner appointee representing the hunting/ angling community in recent history.

Another insider was also shunned for upholding wildlife ethics about 30 years ago. Tom Beck, the state’s leading bear biologist, worked at the Colorado Division of Wildlife alongside Skiba. Beck was similarly harassed, shunned and ostracized by the loud minority fringe groups, who feel that any criticism of any kind of hunting is wrong.

Beck simply spoke in favor of not allowing the hunting of bears using bait and hounds in spring when cubs are present. The voters made it happen instead, by a whopping 70% of the vote.

Today, we have social media, and bullying and harassment are on steroids; it’s pure tribalism.

The only people who win here are those who are trying to raise money by stirring things up in our community for their own selfish reasons — especially those using fearmongering techniques suggesting they are coming after you next. A pastor I know calls this “stirring people up with a dirty spoon.”

Bravo to Beck, and to Skiba. I will end with what Beck said so well: “Most hunting can be ethically defended. Some cannot. Change, where necessary, is our only hope of survival. Antihunters may hold a spotlight on our behavior, but through our behavior we control what they see.”

— Dave Ruane, Windsor