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Foreword <br />"Many of the most vexing problems of conservation today and in the foreseeable future stem from the <br />disparity between the concept of long -term public benefit ... and the privilege of the individual to convert <br />natural resources for immediate private gain." <br />So contends one of the world's leading animal ecologists, Professor Ian McTaggart Cowan, Dean of the <br />Graduate Studies faculty at the University of British Columbia. <br />This "disparity," then, in a nutshell, is the problem faced by the wildlife manager as he tries to preserve, pro- <br />tect, enhance and manage wildlife. On the one hand, he strives to achieve the "long -term public benefit ". On <br />the other hand, he must contend with individuals who "convert natural resource for immediate private <br />gain." <br />The wildlife manager, in his efforts to overcome this disparity, must use long -term planning, based on well - <br />thought -out strategies, to reach his goals of preservation and enhancement of wildlife and the protection of <br />its habitat. It is only by setting goals, devising strategies to implement courses of action and bending every <br />effort to realize those goals that wildlife managers, entrusted by the people of this state to oversee their <br />"natural resources ", can ensure healthy wildlife populations for future generations. <br />This planning, then, takes the form of a "Strategic Plan" designed to provide wildlife for the enjoyment of <br />people and to provide benefits for wildlife. For such a plan to be of any continuing value, it must be updated <br />periodically to reflect developing realities. <br />This document is the Strategic Plan for Colorado wildlife, in its third revision. It reflects the collective think- <br />ing of the Colorado Wildlife Commission and the Division of Wildlife and it includes input from public out- <br />door resource users. It is devised to preserve, protect, enhance and manage the State's wildlife, in the face <br />of growing human populations and their attendant developments, for the enjoyment and benefit of the peo- <br />ple of Colorado and visitors to this State. <br />Jack R. Grieb <br />Director, Division of Wildlife <br />0 <br />