Editor’s Note: This is a regular monthly column from Colorado Parks and Wildlife about wildlife issues in the Falcon area by a career wildlife officer.
Aaron Berscheid is a district wildlife officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Aaron covers the “wild” side of Northeast El Paso County, including Black Forest, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan. He also covers some of Elbert County, north of U.S. Highway 24 and south of State Highway 86, including the towns of Elbert, Kiowa, Ramah, Simla, Matheson and a small portion of the Limon area.
What does CPW actually do?
In 2021, a study was conducted by The National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs (NACLEC), the National Conservation Law Enforcement Education Foundation, Responsive Management and the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. The study titled, “Planning for the Future of Conservation Law Enforcement in the United States,” surveyed the general U.S. population and members of the conservation law enforcement community.
The goal of the study was to identify how conservation law enforcement is viewed by both the general public and conservation law enforcement professionals. The findings of the study challenge conservation law enforcement’s perceived role and duties, and open the discussion that I believe needs to happen: Where is conservation law enforcement relevant in the current culture and landscape of the ever-changing nation we call home?
I can’t fully capture the entire rundown of the study and what it implies in just one article, so I’ll be completing this discussion through multiple articles. This month I begin by introducing the study and summarizing some of the findings.
The study discovered that the general population lacks knowledge of what conservation law enforcement agencies like Colorado Parks and Wildlife actually do. It also identified what participation looks like in wildlife-related outdoor recreation and how it has shifted over the years. This brings changes to the funding base for wildlife conservation and the values that Americans hold toward wildlife conservation.
Most U.S. wildlife conservation agencies employ law enforcement professionals whose only role is wildlife law enforcement. No doubt this is an important role; however, the job descriptions of CPW conservation officers goes well beyond law enforcement. I have written about this in previous articles, but most basically, a CPW district wildlife manager’s duties fall into three categories: law enforcement, education/outreach/customer service and wildlife management. This allows CPW officers to conduct more community engagement in the communities they serve, continuing ongoing conversations and understanding of wildlife conservation.
With this basic introduction into this study, I wanted our readers thinking about what they know about CPW and what we do for wildlife. Think about what services CPW provides that directly affect you. Also, think about the types of recreation you participate in that are directly related to wildlife or wildlife habitats.
In next month’s article, I will discuss the history of wildlife management in the United States and how we arrived at our current state of wildlife management. After we know more about the history of wildlife management and conservation agencies, we can dive deeper into what this study identifies as public desires for wildlife management and how conservation agencies can adapt.
If you would like to read the study yourself, it is linked here:
https://naclec.org/press-pages/conservation-law-enforcement-usa-national-report
In the coming months, I’ll share more stories as I write about wildlife issues in our community. Got a question, problem or column idea? Please email me at aaron.berscheid@state.co.us or call me at 719-227-5231.
I might even answer your question in a future installment of “Wildlife Matters.”
