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Wildlife Recommendations Mary R. Halstead, Colorado Division of Wildlife BACKGROUND: The Colorado Drought Mitigation and Response Plan identifies the following agencies or organizations as members of the WTF: • Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources - Div. Of Wildlife (Chair) • Colorado Water Conservation Board • U.S. Forest Service • Bureau of Land Management • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • Trout Unlimited • Others as needed Sixteen people attended the April 26, 2002, WTF meeting. In addition to representatives of all of the above listed agencies and organizations, a representative of the Colorado Wildlife Federation was in attendance. Attachment A provides a current listing of the members of the WTF with contact names. This list will be updated as future needs are assessed. Table 1 provides a preliminary listing of the primary anticipated wildlife impacts under drought conditions. Table 2 identifies potential mitigation strategies. The WTF focused our initial efforts on identifying those issues that: 1) require immediate action before the close of the legislative session; and 2) can be addressed through a cooperative effort of the members of the WTF. Immediate Action Recommendations The WTF appreciates this opportunity to provide recommendations to Governor Owens and has identified the following immediate actions that would assist in mitigating potential and existing wildlife drought impacts: Issue statewide voluntary conservation measures - A statewide voluntary initiative to conserve water to benefit wildlife would stimulate community commitment and civic pride in protecting our wildlife assets. These voluntary conservation measures would also benefit other drought- impacted sectors. Coordinate public education and media releases - A centralized effort to coordinate all public education and media releases focused on drought conditions and mitigation would provide clearer communications and higher visibility. Listed below are a few additional actions suggested by the members of the WTF.