Colorado voters to decide if sporting goods tax can fund wildfire mitigation programs

Colorado voters will decide on Proposed Initiative 308 this November, which could channel millions of additional dollars to forest health, watershed protection, and outdoor spaces without creating a new tax.

Supporters qualified the initiative for the ballot by submitting more than 205,000 signatures — well above the 124,238 required for a statutory measure — according to Colorado Newsline. By the time voters see it, the measure is expected to carry a different proposition number.

Here's what to know

At the heart of the proposal is a TABOR exemption for sporting goods sales tax collections. Backers say removing that revenue from the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights limits could free up as much as $175 million for conservation and wildfire mitigation.

The largest shares would be divided evenly between Great Outdoors Colorado and the state's wildfire mitigation programs. Smaller portions would fund Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Outdoor Equity Grant Program and economic development work through the state's Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.

The proposal comes as Colorado faces an extensive and expensive list of unfinished forest and watershed projects.

Through a watershed protection program run by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, more than 13 million acres of mountain watersheds in western and central Colorado are covered by a Wildfire Ready Action Plan, or WRAP, according to Colorado Newsline.

Treating forests can lessen the intensity of fires that endanger homes, infrastructure, recreation areas, and drinking water sources. It can also reduce expensive damage that often follows a fire, including erosion and water contamination.

Cost remains the biggest hurdle. Depending on terrain and the equipment required, wildfire mitigation treatments can cost thousands of dollars per acre, turning even the highest-priority work into a multibillion-dollar challenge.

What's being done?

Groups supporting the measure include The Nature Conservancy, Western Resource Advocates, and the Trust for Public Land, Colorado Newsline reported. The committee backing the proposal has reported more than $3 million in contributions.

Some environmental advocates, however, worry that "wildfire mitigation" can sometimes be invoked to justify large-scale logging. 

Because the proposal would change statute rather than the constitution, lawmakers in the future could still alter how the money is distributed. Supporters say a yes vote would nonetheless send a strong message that conservation and wildfire mitigation should remain priorities for the state.

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