Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Appointments Parks Wildlife topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate hearing on Parks and Wildlife commissioner nominee drew sharp praise and opposition
Summary
Senators debated the nomination of Jay Touchton to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission; supporters pointed to conservation and private-land work while opponents raised questions about conflicts, perceived bias on wolf reintroduction and transparency in predation reports.
Senators on March 18 debated the gubernatorial nomination of Jay Touchton (also spoken as "Tuchton" in floor remarks) to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The confirmation hearing in committee drew testimony raising questions about his relationships to the governor's office and private land trust work and suggested potential conflicts of interest.
Senator Roberts moved to confirm the appointment and urged colleagues to oppose the confirmation vote on the floor, saying he had concerns about some of Touchton's committee answers and relationships. Senator Marchman spoke strongly in support, describing Touchton's background in managing private land for the Southern Plains Land Trust, his legal training, and service to both conservation and hunting/agricultural groups and urged confirmation.
Opponents (including Senator Pelton R. and Senator Simpson) said they had concerns about possible conflicts, inconsistency with agricultural producers' interests, and comments Touchton made in his confirmation process — including a reported remark about legislators opposing wolf reintroduction being "whiny politicians" — which some senators said indicated insufficient respect for differing viewpoints. Other senators raised transparency concerns after a reported predation incident in Pitkin County and urged CPW to improve timeliness and clarity of predation reporting.
Floor discussion in the provided transcript records both support and opposition and lists several senators speaking to the nomination; the provided segments do not include a clear final confirmation tally for Touchton's nomination. The nomination discussion was one of several Parks and Wildlife appointments taken up during the session.
