(1) Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby recognizes the importance of
conserving native species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under
state or federal law, or are candidate species or are likely to become candidate
species as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service. The general
assembly hereby declares and determines that the Colorado department of natural
resources and the division of parks and wildlife are responsible for the
development, implementation, or approval of appropriate programs to address the
conservation of such species and for negotiating agreements with federal agencies
and other states to avoid regulatory conflicts pursuant to section 24-33-103.
(2) Species conservation trust fund - creation. (a) (I) (A) There is created in
the state treasury the species conservation trust fund, which is subject to annual
authorization by the general assembly to carry out the purposes of this section. The
fund consists of all money transferred by the treasurer as specified in subsection
(2)(a)(I)(B) of this section and all money appropriated to the fund pursuant to
section 39-29-109.3 (1)(g)(I). At the end of any fiscal year, all unexpended money in
the fund remains in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general
fund or any other fund. To the maximum extent practical, only interest from the
fund shall be expended for activities pursuant to this section.
(B) On July 1, 2017, the state treasurer shall transfer four million ninety
thousand nine hundred nine dollars from the general fund to the species
conservation trust fund. On July 1, 2018, the state treasurer shall transfer three
million dollars from the general fund to the species conservation trust fund.
(C) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(a)(I)(A) of this section, on April 30, 2021,
the state treasurer shall transfer one million nine hundred ninety-eight thousand
two hundred five dollars from the species conservation trust fund to the severance
tax operational fund created in section 39-29-109 (2)(b)(I).
(II) Beginning with the state fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2009, the
general assembly shall appropriate an amount not to exceed five hundred thousand
dollars from the species conservation trust fund to the department of natural
resources for the purpose of acquiring water for instream flows. Moneys
appropriated for this purpose shall be used to preserve or improve the natural
environment of species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under
state or federal law, or are candidate species or are likely to become candidate
species. The executive director of the department of natural resources, in preparing
the species conservation eligibility list pursuant to this section, shall provide a list
of the specific instream flow acquisitions that would be financed pursuant to this
subparagraph (II). Such list shall include the species that would benefit from each
proposed instream flow acquisition. Prior to obligating revenues from the fund, the
list of specific instream flow acquisitions is subject to modification and adoption by
the general assembly through passage of a bill.
(III) Repealed.
(b) to (e) Repealed.
(f) (I) For state fiscal years commencing on or before July 1, 2024, and on or
after July 1, 2026, the state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived
from the deposit and investment of money in the species conservation trust fund to
the fund.
(II) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(a)(I)(A) of this section, for the state fiscal
year commencing on July 1, 2025, in accordance with section 24-36-114 (1), the
state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and
investment of money in the species conservation trust fund to the general fund.
(III) (A) On June 30, 2025, the state treasurer shall transfer six hundred
twenty-nine thousand one hundred forty-three dollars from the species
conservation trust fund to the general fund.
(B) This subsection (2)(f)(III) is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.
(3) Species conservation eligibility list. (a) The executive director of the
department of natural resources, after consultation with the Colorado water
conservation board and its director, the parks and wildlife commission, and the
director of the division of parks and wildlife, shall annually prepare a species
conservation eligibility list describing programs and associated costs that are
eligible to receive funding pursuant to this section. The species conservation
eligibility list is subject to modification and adoption through passage of a bill.
(b) Funding shall be distributed by the executive director of the department
of natural resources among projects included in the species conservation eligibility
list for the following purposes:
(I) Cooperative agreements, recovery programs, and other programs that are
designed to meet obligations arising under the federal Endangered Species Act of
1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq., and that provide regulatory certainty in accordance
with subsection (4) of this section;
(II) Studies and programs established or approved by the division of parks
and wildlife and the executive director of the department of natural resources
regarding:
(A) Species placed on the state endangered or threatened list in accordance
with section 33-2-105, C.R.S.;
(B) Candidate species in order to assist in the recovery or protection of the
species to avoid listing of the species;
(C) Scientific research relating to listing or delisting any species; or
(D) If a species that is not on the federal endangered or threatened species
list is proposed to be added to the state endangered or threatened species list, the
evaluation of the species pursuant to this sub-subparagraph (D) shall include:
Scientific evaluation of genetic data that proves the species is a separate and
distinct species in the ecosystem; evaluation of the species habitat that
encompasses the entire geographic area of the species habitat not just portions of
such habitat; and the reliable scientific baseline data used to ascertain that the
number of the species in the habitat is rapidly declining over time.
(c) In no event shall moneys from the species conservation trust fund,
created in subsection (2) of this section, be used to acquire any property through
the exercise of eminent domain.
(4) Agreement requirements. In order to be eligible for funding under
subsection (3) of this section, agreements entered into by or on behalf of the state
with any person, entity, organization, political subdivision, state, or the federal
government relating to the conservation of native species that have been listed as
threatened or endangered under federal or state law or that are candidate species
or are likely to become candidate species, species at risk and species of special
concern, or species the decline or extinction of which may affect the welfare of the
citizens of the state, must be voluntary, shall protect private property rights, and
shall assist in meeting the regulatory requirements that currently exist or that may
become applicable in the future pertaining to the conservation of species. Funds
allocated for the purpose of implementing such agreements through the species
conservation list process shall be utilized, to the maximum extent possible, for the
purchase or construction of capital assets that shall be owned by the state and that
may be sold or utilized for other purposes in the event that the agreement is
terminated unless the state elects not to own such assets and for the
implementation of activities the division of parks and wildlife has determined may
eliminate the need to list a species as threatened or endangered or, in the case of
previously listed species, may hasten delisting.
(5) Maximization of funds. The Colorado water conservation board and the
parks and wildlife commission shall maximize the species conservation trust fund
by applying for available grants consistent with the purposes of the fund. Federal
grants and voluntary contributions may be accepted and expended as provided in
this section. Such grants and contributions shall, upon acceptance, be placed in the
species conservation trust fund created in subsection (2) of this section. Nothing in
this section limits the authority of the Colorado division of parks and wildlife to
manage or regulate game, nongame, or threatened or endangered species. No
funding shall be accepted, approved, or used to initiate the listing of species as
threatened or endangered under federal law. Nothing in this section is intended to
be construed as a mechanism to substitute funding that would otherwise be
available for expenditure by the division of wildlife or to replace or reduce the
obligation of the division to carry out nongame programs under title 33, C.R.S.
Source: L. 98: Entire section added, p. 1000, � 1, effective May 27. L. 99: (2)
amended, p. 624, � 24, effective August 4. L. 2000: (1) amended, p. 22, � 4, effective
August 2. L. 2002: (2) amended, p. 158, � 18, effective March 27; (2)(d) added, p. 671,
� 2, effective May 28. L. 2003: (2)(e) added, p. 457, � 15, effective March 5. L. 2004: (3)(a) amended, p. 692, � 3, effective April 28. L. 2005: (3)(a) amended, p. 768, � 39,
effective June 1. L. 2006: (2)(b), (2)(c), (2)(d), and (2)(e) amended, p. 1049, � 4,
effective May 25. L. 2007: (3)(b)(II)(D) amended, p. 2034, � 51, effective June 1. L.
2008: (2)(a) amended, p. 1579, � 3, effective May 29. L. 2012: (3)(a) and (5)
amended, (HB 12-1317), ch. 248, p. 1204, � 8, effective June 4; (2)(a)(I) amended, (HB
12-1349), ch. 282, p. 1635, � 3, effective June 8. L. 2017: (2)(a)(I) amended, (SB 17-259), ch. 190, p. 690, � 3, effective May 3; (3)(a) amended, (HB 17-1257), ch. 254, p.
1063, � 2, effective August 9. L. 2018: (2)(a)(I)(B) amended and (2)(a)(III) added, (HB
18-1338), ch. 201, pp. 1308, 1309, �� 3, 8, effective May 4. L. 2021: (2)(a)(I)(C) added,
(SB 21-220), ch. 81, p. 309, � 1, effective April 30; (2)(a)(I)(A) amended, (SB 21-281),
ch. 255, p. 1501, � 10, effective June 18. L. 2023: (2)(a)(I)(A) amended, (HB 23-1301),
ch. 303, p. 1826, � 35, effective August 7. L. 2024: (3)(a) amended, (SB 24-135), ch.
34, p. 112, � 19, effective March 22. L. 2025: (2)(a)(I)(A) amended and (2)(f) added,
(SB 25-317), ch. 385, p. 2144, � 12, effective June 3.