FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2026

Media Contact
s:

Dustin Zvonek, Campaign Manager

Erin Isaac, Communications Director

Erinisaac1@gmail.com 

Yes on 83 Right to Hunt and Fish Campaign Expands Coalition for Colorado

Colorado-based coalition working to make Colorado the 25th state to constitutionally protect hunting, fishing, and science-based wildlife management

DENVER — Yes on 83, the official campaign to pass Colorado’s Right to Hunt and Fish amendment, today announced a massive expansion to the Coalition for Colorado, a group of bipartisan conservation, hunting, angling, agricultural, and outdoor organizations working to forever protect the right to hunt and fish in Colorado's Constitution.

The campaign is led by a Colorado-based team working to activate millions of voters to protect science-based wildlife management and Colorado’s outdoor heritage for the next generation. Twenty-four states already guarantee a constitutional right to hunt and fish. Colorado will become the 25th.

“Protecting fishing opportunities matters not just to Colorado anglers, but to the nationwide sportfishing industry,” said Glenn Hughes, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “Our businesses depend on people having the freedom and opportunity to fish, and on states recognizing the value fishing brings to their communities. Amendment 83 is an important statement about the place fishing should continue to hold in Colorado and across the country.”

Amendment 83 would add a right of the people of Colorado to hunt, fish, and harvest fish and wildlife by traditional methods. It would establish hunting and fishing as the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations, while preserving the full authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the General Assembly to regulate hunting, fishing, and wildlife management when necessary for sound scientific conservation, public safety, or to preserve future hunting and fishing opportunities. The measure does not authorize trespass, does not apply to endangered, nongame, or federally protected species, and does not repeal existing voter-approved restrictions.

“Anglers have a direct stake in the health of the waters and fish populations they enjoy, and they’ve helped fund fisheries conservation for generations,” said Frank-Paul King, President of Temple Fork Outfitters.“Amendment 83 recognizes that fishing and conservation go hand in hand. TFO is proud to support a measure that helps ensure both remain part of Colorado’s future.”

Colorado is home to the world's largest elk population, and the most members of RMEF in over two dozen chapters all across the state. Since 1987, RMEF and its partners completed 922 conservation and hunting heritage projects in Colorado with a combined value of more than $213 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 514,731 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 120,252 acres.

Colorado’s 300,000-plus hunters and 950,000-plus anglers generate $3.25 billion in annual economic activity and support more than 25,000 jobs. Roughly 40 percent of the state’s registered voters have a personal connection to hunting or fishing. License fees, tags, and related revenue fund the majority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s conservation work.

Coalition for Colorado Members Include:

American Sportfishing Association

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

Bass Pro Shops

Colorado Bowhunters Association

Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management

Colorado Outfitters Association

Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

Ducks Unlimited

Delta Waterfowl

HOWL for Wildlife

National Wild Turkey Federation

National Rifle Association

Colorado Wildlife Federation

Sportsmen for Community

Pheasants Forever

Quail Forever

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society

Salida Gunshop

Scheels

SCI Colorado chapter

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

SCI (Safari Club International)

Union Sportsmen's Alliance

Wild Sheep Foundation

Kifaru

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Huntin' Fool

Leupold

GoHunt

MKC (Montana Knife Company)

National Wildlife Federation

Muley Fanatic Foundation

Mule Deer Foundation

Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery

Colorado Trappers & Predator Hunters Association

Gunnison Wildlife Association

Colorado State Muzzle Loading Association

Colorado State Shooting Association

United Houndsmen of Colorado

Bass University

Wildlife Forever

Cooler Clips

Rather Outdoors

Head Hunter

Vexilar

Major League Fishing

Mayfly Outdoors

Finns Up Bait Co.

Jersey Coast Anglers Association

LS Bait Co.

Small Craft Sales

Izaak Walton League – Cypress Chapter

Space Fish

OTW (On The Water)

TBKA (Tampa Bay Kayak Anglers)

Careco

Dhukr Tool

Major Bass

Creme Lure Co.

Astro Lithium

Compass Carts

BWS Batta-Walker Sales

Sportsman Radio Show

Relaxed Retreat

International Game Fish Association

The Next Fish

Boat Company Explorations

Big Fish

Fishing Retailer / FishingWire

Missile Baits

Capt. Harry's Fishing Supply

GP Productions

Danco

REC Components

Grady-White Boats

Drive for Clean Water

B'n'M Fishing

Eagle Claw

CB's Saltwater Outfitters

Bob Marlin

TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group

Fishe

Pelagic

Gill

TWF Federation

Daiwa

Bullet Weights

Susquehanna Fishing Tackle

The Bass Federation (TBF)

B.A.S.S. Conservation

FishNFX

Hobie Eyewear

GoatNewBee (GNB)

The Hammond Group

Seaguar

Connect-Ease

Sportco Marketing

Wired2Fish

Winthrop

Flylab

P-Line

AFTCO

Marine Retailers Association of the Americas

Discount Fishing Tackle

Temple Fork Outfitters

Mason

Lang Conservation Partners

Yo-Zuri

Optic Nerve

Professional Outdoor Media Association

Lamiglas

Mustad

North Carolina Beach Buggy Association

Sunline

Livingston Lures

Rapala

Hook & Tackle

SeaQualizer

Boone

Balanced Rods

Strike

Half Hitch

Maxima Fishing Line

JPS Premier Sales Solutions

United Composites

Scientific Anglers

Rudow's FishTalk

Can-Am Sales Group

J2 Consultants

Engel Coolers

Anglers Resource

TrikFish

FlyingFish-AI

SWC

Tackle Warehouse

Don Coffey Company

Island Optics Ltd

Bass Angler Magazine

Orvis

Flying Fisherman

Cumings

Shimano

Duckett Fishing

SportfishingReport.com

The Secretary of State certified the measure after proponents submitted 184,097 petition signatures, of which 145,299 were valid — exceeding the statewide threshold and the distribution requirement in every state Senate district. As a constitutional amendment, Amendment 83 requires 55 percent voter approval.

Yes on 83 is running a statewide voter-education and get-out-the-vote campaign grounded in Colorado values: science over politics, heritage over ideology, and conservation funded by the people who hunt and fish.

Coloradans who want to volunteer, donate, or learn more can visit YesOn83CO.org.

Paid for by Vote Yes on 83. Jon Anderson Registered Agent