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ul}Q546 I. INTRODUCTION Twenty years ago, the conditions affecting fishery management were quite a bit different than what the Colorado Wildlife Commission has to deal with today, or what we will deal with over the next 20'years. In 1977, Colorado had about 500,000 licensed resident and non-resident anglers. Total state population was only about 3 million people. The Endangered Species Act was about 4 years old, and no one could foretell the influence it would have on species management. The idea of special regulations on fishing waters .was in the "experimental" stage. rainbow trout were the most popular fish, and species like wiper and tiger.musky hadn't even been thought of by Colorado's fishery biologists. There was no Pueblo hatchery, no problems with Whirling Disease, no Memoranda of Understanding with the Department of Interior, and life as a whole was simpler, less busy and more straightforward. Today, the Colorado Wildlife Commission has to deal with over 750,000 licensed anglers, a burgeoning state population pushing 4 million people, Recovery Programs for state and federally listed native fish species; procedures on when and where warmwater sport species can be stocked in specific drainages; where fish exposed to fish health problems can and cannot be stocked; and how to fund extremely complex basin management practices that involve the public, municipalities, water users, developers, agricultural interests, anglers and environmentalists. Colorado's aquatic habitat is clearly under greater threat from expanded development and demand for water. Natural resource management as we come to the close of this century has evolved considerably and takes place in a new political environment that reflects shifting public desires and expectations. Public participation is gauged in terms of citizen referendum, stakeholder groups, angler roundtables and intense public involvement in agency decisions. In the spirit of the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Legislative mandate, the Colorado Wildlife Commission has prepared a new STATEWIDE FISHERY MANAGEM.ENT POLICY that takes into account this changed environment for natural resource management, and which provides direction to the Division of Wildlife for fishery management programs into the next century. Colorado's fish and aquatic resources are a key component of the environment of Colorado and are highly valued by the people of this state. The Division of Wildlife has management responsibility for over 70 species of fish in Colorado, of which 7 are native sport species, 32 are introduced sport species, and 32 are native, non-sport species. Populations of these species occur throughout the 24,000 miles of stream habitat, 15,000 acres of natural lakes, and 250,000 acres of man-made reservoirs, lakes and ponds. The environmental, recreational, social, cultural and economic benefits provided by healthy fish populations contribute greatly to the quality of life in the state. 3