Hunting, Fishing, and 2nd Amendment Rights
My mother, a native Coloradan, was an avid outdoorswoman who instilled in me a great sense of adventure, love for nature, and a deep appreciation for Colorado's outdoor heritage. After college, my passion for Colorado's wilderness and high peaks led me to return as an instructor and eventually executive director of the Colorado Outward Bound School. Today, that perspective is reflected in the decisions I make in the U.S. Senate, especially in my role as chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee.
We need to respect and protect the land while also ensuring that the public can enjoy the resources and recreational opportunities it provides. Interacting with the land, whether through hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, or skiing - or any other kind of outdoor recreation - is a way of life in the West, and it's important to support these activities as we consider issues involving wildlife management or conservation of our natural environment.
Colorado's outdoor heritage is also critical to our economy. Hunting and fishing represent the second-largest tourism industry in Colorado -- contributing more than $1.8 billion to our economy and sustaining 21,000 jobs annually -- and they are a significant boon to our rural communities. Outdoor recreation as a whole contributes over $10 billion annually to Colorado's economy and generates 107,000 jobs statewide. Therefore, responsible land and water management combined with access to recreational opportunities translates directly to support for Colorado jobs and our state's economy.
Responsible gun-ownership is also an integral part of our Western heritage. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is an individual right, and I'm committed to protecting the rights of citizens to own firearms for personal protection, hunting, collecting or for other legal purposes. When it comes to stricter gun control legislation, the burden of proof should be on those seeking to change existing laws. My priority is on ensuring we do a better job of enforcing the laws already on the books before embarking on new restrictions or regulations.
However, I'm reminded of the tragedies at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, in Tucson, Arizona, and other instances in which terrible crimes have been committed with guns. These horrific events are national tragedies that should concern us all. We should all be able to agree to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. There is much we can do with existing laws and regulations to prevent gun crime, and that's where our emphasis should be placed.
Lastly, the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court made a convincing constitutional argument against the so-called "gun ban" in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court extended that ruling to states in 2010 in McDonald v. City of Chicago. I generally support the self-rule of residents and their local governments because they, like the residents of Colorado, should largely be free to set their own policies. But the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The Court correctly held that the gun ban improperly violated the Second Amendment, while acknowledging that reasonable restrictions on the use and possession of guns may be appropriate. These rulings provide new guidance on the reach of Second Amendment rights that we did not have prior to 2008. While the Court's decisions do not answer every question, they strike the right balance in favor of protecting individual liberties and gun ownership. In February of 2009, I voted to uphold the judicial decision to protect the Second Amendment rights of District of Columbia residents, and I'll continue to defend the Second Amendment rights of Coloradans.
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Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act
Colorado's mountain communities won a small but important victory on Nov. 7, 2011, when the president signed into law my Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act. After five years of work, I was thrilled that we were able to move it through the U.S. House of Representatives and a gridlocked U.S. Senate and get it to the president's desk. The act revises the 1986 law governing the permitting of ski areas on National Forests, clarifying that the U.S. Forest Service is authorized to permit year-round recreational activities where appropriate. It will boost year-round activity in ski communities, provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation in Colorado, create jobs and aid local economies.
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Supporting Safe Shooting Opportunities
High-quality, safe places where hunters and marksmen can practice shooting are becoming rare. I introduced the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act to help states construct and maintain safe public shooting ranges. I first introduced my bipartisan bill in 2008. It would increase the flexibility states have over the use of federal wildlife funds at public shooting ranges, ultimately giving Colorado hunters and shooters better access to ranges without costing the taxpayer a dime.
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America's Great Outdoors Initiative
On February 16, 2011, I joined President Obama at the White House for an important milestone in his effort to develop a 21st century conservation agenda - the America's Great Outdoors initiative. America's Great Outdoors is a plan to promote community-level stewardship of public lands and reconnect all Americans to the outdoors. As Chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee in the Senate and co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus, I am particularly interested in connecting Americans with outdoor spaces and improving conservation of our public lands and waters. At the event, President Obama unveiled a report that will guide the initiative, focusing goals and actions around three main ideas: connecting all Americans to the outdoors, conserving and restoring our natural landscapes, and working with local stakeholders to protect our lands and waters. I am particularly proud that the President's plan builds off of successful conservation programs in Colorado.
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Ruedi Reservoir Releases for Recovery of Endangered Fish
I introduced legislation (S.3387) to authorize the release of water from Ruedi Reservoir, on the Fryingpan River near Aspen, for the purposes of recovering four endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The water releases authorized in my bill will keep approximately 1,800 water projects on the Colorado River, including the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and Colorado-Big Thompson Project, in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. These releases represent the West Slope's contribution of water for endangered fish recovery, but the bill does not take effect until East Slope water users have committed their corresponding share. This bill has the consensus support of Colorado River water users on both sides of the Continental Divide.
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U.S. Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus
In 2009, I launched the bipartisan Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus with Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho. Through the caucus I will promote healthy, active lifestyles, which foster an appreciation of America's lands and waters through participation in outdoor activities such as camping, climbing, fishing, rafting, hunting, and many others. Strong ties to the land and water are part of our American legacy, and this caucus will honor and help preserve that heritage.