Colorado License Plate Funds Hunting and Fishing Opportunities

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is helping to fund new hunting and fishing opportunities across the state, thanks to its 2016 launch of the Colorado Wildlife Sporting Plate. With more than 18,000 plates sold to sportsmen to date, the first two years of plate sales and renewal fees have resulted in $450,000 in grants for Colorado shooting ranges and fishing programs.

Designed by the CPW, the plate’s upper left and right corners feature elk silhouetted against a sunset backdrop with the center showing a native greenback cutthroat trout highlighted against the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. But the best part is the message—“Hunters and Anglers Fund Conservation”—that runs prominently in all capital letters across the bottom. The plate lets hunters and anglers take pride in being sportsmen while “paying it forward.”

According to the CPW, “The additional funding we’ve put into these programs is consistent with our goals as a part of the Future Generations Act,” said CPW Director Dan Prenzlow. “The projects that they bolster will grow our hunters and anglers in Colorado and expand access to the outdoors.”

For more good news, thanks to the $450,000 generated through plate sales, multiple projects already have been funded for this year through Fishing is Fun and Shooting Range Development Grants. The funds are split evenly between the two programs so each received $225,000.

Both passenger vehicle and motorcyle plates are available through county motor vehicle offices and are received in two to four weeks. The cost is $60 with $10 going to the CPW to aid shooting ranges and fishing access. The other $50 is a one-time fee that goes to the state’s department of revenue. Every year after, sportsmen pay $25 to renew the plate, which goes to the CPW for the development of shooting ranges and for fishing access.

About the Author: Karen Mehall Phillips is the director of communications for the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum and senior editor of NRA’s American Hunter. An avid rifle and bow hunter, she has hunted for 30 years and in 29 states, Canada, Italy, Finland, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Greenland and Africa, including for two of the Big Five.

Karen draws on her experience to educate non-hunters on the critical role that hunters play in wildlife conservation worldwide and to inform them of the dangers anti-hunting extremists present to the future of wildlife conservation. She is invested in fighting America's culture war on hunters and hunting and works to shed light on anti-hunters’ blatant attempts to tout emotion and misinformation over scientific facts.

An NRA Endowment member, Karen worked in the NRA public relations arena prior to joining NRA Publications in 1998. She is the founding editor of two NRA official journals: America's 1st Freedom and Woman's Outlook. National writing awards include being named the 2015 Carl Zeiss Sports Optics Writer of the Year. She actively promotes women and families in the outdoors. She is also a member of the Washington metropolitan area's Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association, a member of Safari Club International and a Life member of the Dallas Safari Club and the Mule Deer Foundation.

Follow NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum on Twitter @HuntersLead.