{"id":28551,"date":"2024-03-25T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-did-a-durango-wildlife-biologist-end-up-in-colorado-senators-crosshairs\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T06:32:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:32:30","slug":"how-did-a-durango-wildlife-biologist-end-up-in-colorado-senators-crosshairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-did-a-durango-wildlife-biologist-end-up-in-colorado-senators-crosshairs\/","title":{"rendered":"How did a Durango wildlife biologist end up in Colorado senators\u2019 crosshairs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Gary
Gary Skiba with Raven, his Labrador retriever on Thursday at Pastorius Reservoir. (Jerry McBride\/ Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m pissed,\u201d said Gary Skiba with an emphatic chuckle.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how the wildlife biologist started a conversation on the derailed confirmation process of his appointment to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission by the Colorado Senate.<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis tapped the Durango resident to serve on the citizen board, which makes policy concerning state wildlife and park programs,<\/a> last July. For about eight months, he represented sportspersons on the 11-person commission.<\/p>\n

But he still had to be confirmed by the Senate, and his tenure came to an abrupt end March 7 when Skiba withdrew himself from consideration after the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee<\/a> voted 4-3 not to support his appointment.<\/p>\n

Skiba went into the Feb. 29 hearing with the awareness that there had been swirling opposition to his appointment stemming from his vocal support for wolf reintroduction in Colorado. He was unaware that the opposition had mushroomed into what Skiba later called \u201cdeeply disturbing lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and two other appointees faced rigorous questioning from senators.<\/a> Skiba described interaction with Committee Chair Dylan Roberts, a former prosecutor, as \u201can interrogation, not a questioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the sense that I was gonna get questioned,\u201d Skiba said. \u201c\u2026 I didn\u2019t expect it to be as uncivil as it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biologist drew condemnation from senators for his support of Proposition 114, the ballot measure that instructed CPW to reintroduce wolves to the state, on the basis that it undermined CPW\u2019s previous decisions not to pursue a reintroduction. Skiba argued that the voters did not usurp the authority of the commission, but that the commission had previously failed to listen to its constituents.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Jessica Beaulieu, who also failed to secure a recommendation for her appointment, was confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n

Skiba was guarded<\/a> in his comments following his withdrawal. With a few weeks\u2019 space, he has opened up about what went wrong and what, from his perspectives, hunters and anglers are losing with him no longer on the commission.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cI\u2019m
\u201cI\u2019m a hunter \u2013 I\u2019m not going to vote against hunters,\u201d Skiba said. The biologist says he is not a big game hunter, but regularly hunts waterfowl with his dog, Raven. (Jerry McBride\/ Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u2018I was stabbed in the back and there were deeply disturbing lies\u2019<\/div>\n

Skiba made a public comment at the March 14 CPW commission<\/a> meeting. It was the first meeting since July that he attended as a member of the public rather than as a commissioner.<\/p>\n

The comment was his first public airing of his side of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my appointment by the governor, multiple deeply disturbing lies have been told about me to rile up the hunting community,\u201d he told his former colleagues.<\/p>\n

Skiba is a wildlife biologist who spent 24 years at CPW (then known as the Division of Wildlife) and is now the wildlife program manager with San Juan Citizens Alliance. While he has not hunted big game in many years, Skiba says he regularly hunts waterfowl (and proudly shows off his cellphone background photo of his retriever, Raven, with her first duck).<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t live in a home adorned with trophy heads \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean he was unqualified to represent hunters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a hunter \u2013 I\u2019m not going to vote against hunters,\u201d he said, incredulous. \u201cThat\u2019s stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t stop opponents from painting him as an<\/a> \u201canimal rights professional,\u201d or worse, a \u201cguru,\u201d<\/a> and claiming that he drafted Proposition 114 (he didn\u2019t, he says).<\/p>\n

A hunter\u2019s advocacy group called Howl for Wildlife created an easy form with which residents could submit pre-crafted letters to their senators opposing the nomination of Skiba, and the two other appointees.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo their credit, they did a great job,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very effective. \u2026 I didn\u2019t appreciate it, but it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was not the worst of it. Skiba sat on the Stakeholders Advisory Group, a panel of state residents representing various interests during the process of crafting the wolf reintroduction plan last year. Unbeknown to him, seven of his former colleagues had submitted a letter to the committee opposing his nomination.<\/p>\n

The letter addressed an alternative plan introduced by WildEarth Guardians for wolf management. Sentiment on the SAG was that the plan would undercut the CPW process.<\/p>\n