Salida Gunshop Podcast // Nov 3, 2026 Ballot
Colorado Amendment 83: Dan Gates on the Right to Hunt and Fish
Amendment 83 would add a right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife by traditional methods to the Colorado Constitution BALLOTPEDIA COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026. Dan Gates of CRWM sat down with Salida Gunshop to explain what he thinks it changes and what stays the same.
What Amendment 83 says
The ballot question creates a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest fish and wildlife by traditional methods. It also makes hunting and fishing the “preferred means” of managing fish and wildlife populations BALLOTPEDIA COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026.
The state keeps its power to regulate when “necessary for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities for all species” BALLOTPEDIA.
The Blue Book analysis says the measure makes “no immediate change to existing state law or regulations.” It does not cover nongame or endangered species, and it does not change trespass law. Amendment 83 is a citizen initiative and needs 55% of the vote to pass BLUE BOOK.
What “traditional methods” means, according to Dan Gates
Gates reads the phrase as the methods that are legal under Colorado statute and regulation today VIDEO 0:59. His list includes rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, pistol, archery, compound bow, crossbow under certain restrictions, and the fishing gear allowed now.
He says the amendment would not restore methods Colorado has already removed, and he names spring bear hunting with hounds and bait as an example VIDEO 1:40. In the cold open, the hosts add traps, bait, hounds, and thermal imaging to that list VIDEO 0:09.
“Traditional methods could be interpreted from a variety of different perspectives depending on what your traditions are.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 0:52
That is Gates’s interpretation. Opponents point out that the amendment does not define “traditional methods” COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026 BLUE BOOK.
“This doesn’t take back anything. This doesn’t reverse anything. This just says what is legal today is what will be legal going forward”
Adam, Salida Gunshop host VIDEO 41:12
Gates answers, “100%.” VIDEO 41:23
“That whole book that’s this thick is not going to get any less thick.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 0:18
Science or the ballot box: Gates’s main argument
Gates argues that wildlife decisions belong with Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists, not with repeated statewide votes VIDEO 10:00 VIDEO 50:00. He points to the 1992 bear initiative and the 2020 wolf reintroduction vote as examples of wildlife management at the ballot box VIDEO 6:00 VIDEO 16:02.
“I don’t want everybody waiting till every November to turn around and make wildlife decisions”
Dan Gates VIDEO 10:03
On the bear initiative, he separates the outcome from the method used to reach it:
“I’m not arguing the result of that. I’m arguing the process of it.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 16:16
He also makes a generational case: hunters and anglers who never had access to a method or opportunity may not notice it is gone VIDEO 8:00.
“If you don’t realize that you lost it, you never realize that you had it.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 8:04
CPW Commission, public comment, and the lawsuit question
Gates criticizes how recent Parks and Wildlife Commission meetings weighed CPW staff data and handled public comment VIDEO 2:00 VIDEO 22:00. He also brings up pending litigation over a Commission process, while noting he is not an attorney VIDEO 24:00.
Responding to the claim that Amendment 83 would invite more lawsuits, Gates asks, “More lawsuits than what?” VIDEO 18:23 Opponents argue the measure carries lawsuit risk COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026.
Technology, fair chase, and wildlife management
Gates says rules on new hunting technology should come “through science,” set by the agency rather than written into the ballot VIDEO 43:09. The hosts raise thermal imaging as one method that stays off the table under current regulations VIDEO 0:13.
Gates’s case for a yes vote
Gates urges a yes vote so that wildlife policy is not reopened every few election cycles VIDEO 40:00. The episode opens with this line, and he repeats it near the 40-minute mark VIDEO 40:33:
“Let’s let wildlife managers manage wildlife and people can benefit off of that whether they hunt fish or not.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 0:00
He also describes CRWM’s role:
“CRWM doesn’t do conservation work. We advocate for conservation.”
Dan Gates VIDEO 66:21
How to vote on Amendment 83
- Amendment 83 needs 55% of the vote to pass BLUE BOOK.
- Mail ballots must be received, not postmarked, by 7pm MT on Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026.
- Read the official analysis in the 2026 Blue Book.
- Find your nearest drop box or voter center at GoVoteColorado.gov, run by the Colorado Secretary of State.
More Nov 3 ballot coverage: Teddy Collins on Colorado Senate District 4. All Salida Gunshop episodes: podcast archive.
Chapters
- 0:00 Cold open
- 0:30 What “traditional methods” means
- 2:00 Values vs. data at the CPW Commission
- 4:01 Wyoming bighorn sheep example
- 5:00 CPW by the numbers
- 6:00 Wolves, the 1992 bear initiative, and ballot history
- 8:00 “Out of sight, out of mind”: the generational argument
- 10:00 Why November ballots are a poor way to manage wildlife
- 12:00 Listen to the experts
- 16:02 The bear initiative’s legacy
- 17:02 Funding and the “more lawsuits” claim
- 19:00 Who opposes Amendment 83
- 22:00 Commission meetings and public comment
- 24:00 The lawsuit question
- 29:00 CPW as an enterprise agency
- 33:00 Offense, defense, and bringing it back to the middle
- 36:02 Conservation history and the North American model
- 40:00 Gates’s case for a yes vote
- 41:00 Traditional methods recap: technology
- 44:00 CPW’s limited voice at the legislature
- 46:00 Social science vs. biological data
- 50:00 Wildlife lifespans and harvesting the surplus
- 54:00 The golf course analogy
- 57:00 Stories from the road
- 61:02 Conservation groups and politics
- 66:02 What CRWM does and how to follow
Amendment 83 FAQ
What is Colorado Amendment 83?
A citizen-initiated amendment to the Colorado Constitution that creates a right to hunt, fish, and harvest fish and wildlife by traditional methods, and makes hunting and fishing the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations. BALLOTPEDIA COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026
How many votes does Amendment 83 need to pass?
55%, according to the Blue Book. BLUE BOOK
Does Amendment 83 change current hunting or fishing regulations?
The Blue Book says there is “no immediate change to existing state law or regulations.” The state keeps its power to regulate for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve future hunting and fishing opportunities. BLUE BOOK
Does it cover endangered species or change trespass law?
No. Per the Blue Book, it does not cover nongame or endangered species and does not change trespass law. BLUE BOOK
What do opponents say?
The Blue Book’s argument against Amendment 83 says “the state constitution should protect fundamental rights and not recreational activities,” and that its “undefined, vague language could prompt costly legal challenges.” BLUE BOOK P. 21, ARGUMENT AGAINST Opponents quoted by the Colorado Sun also say “traditional methods” is not defined. COLORADO SUN, OCT 1 2026
What does Dan Gates say “traditional methods” means?
In the episode he says it means methods that are legal under Colorado statute and regulation today, and that it would not bring back methods already banned. This is his reading; the amendment text does not define the term. VIDEO 0:59
When is my ballot due?
Mail ballots must be received, not just postmarked, by 7pm MT on Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026.
Quotes are taken verbatim from the episode’s auto-transcript, with timestamps linking to that moment in the video.
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