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Executive Summary In 1998, the General Assembly passed HB 98-1006 that establishes a Native Species Conservation Trust Fund (hereinafter, "the Fund"). The statute is attached as Appendix A. Expenditures from the Fund are intended to promote the conservation of native wildlife species whose populations are declining. The General Assembly initially appropriated $10 million into the Fund from several sources. HB 98-1006 directs the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to annually prepare a Species Conservation Eligibility List describing programs eligible to receive funding from the Fund. This list is prepared after consulting with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and its director and the Colorado Wildlife Commission and the director of the Division of Wildlife. This List is attached as appendix B. HB 98-1006 also directs the Executive Director to annually provide a report to the General Assembly on the progress and status of activities undertaken to recover Colorado's native species, as well as activities that may be required in the future. This report is provided to fulfill this reporting obligation. This report is organized into two sections reflecting the major purposes for which expenditures from the Fund are authorized: • HB 98-1006 authorizes the DNR to make expenditures from the Fund for purposes of implementing cooperative agreements, recovery programs, and other programs designed to meet obligations arising under the federal Endangered Species Act and to provide a stable and predictable regulatory environment for Colorado's citizens. HB 98-1006 authorizes the DNR to make expenditures from the Fund for studies and programs designed to: conserve species currently listed as threatened and endangered species under state law; recover or protect candidate species in order to avoid the need one day to list these species under federal law; and improve scientific understanding related to any of the factors in state and federal law that govern decisions on adding or removing species from either the state or federal endangered species lists.l ' Both state and federal law contain endangered species statutes. The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U:S.C. 1531, et seq., is a complex federal statute that has been the focus of considerable public debate and judicial interpretation almost since its adoption by Congress twenty five years ago. It often is referred to as the most powerful environmental law in the world due to the extraordinary regulatory authorities its confers upon the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for protection of species and habitats thought to be in danger of going extinct. By contrast, the State of Colorado's endangered species protection law, 33-2-105, C.R.S., is limited to creating a special management status for rare or declining species, but confers no habitat protection regulatory authority upon agencies of the State of Colorado, though it does affirm the Colorado Division of Wildlife's authority to regulate the killing, or "taking," of state-listed species. Native Species Conservation Trust Fund Page 1 Annual Report to the Colorado General Assembly Colorado Department of Natural Resources