The Colorado Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Act. You get to help subsidize Boulder’s Sundance Film Festival.

The Colorado Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Act

I had a reader send me the brand-new initiative which I link to below. It is (according to the reader at least) the beginnings of a whole slate of animal-rights and environmental initiatives to be run in 2026.

Another series of policies aimed at getting the Front Range to vote for things that make them feel good but which cost other people.

I'll leave it to you to read the entirety of the proposed initiative (it's still far from being in the title setting process), but I can give you some of the bare bones.

Screenshot 1 gives you the declaration of the purpose of this initiative.

In terms of the mechanics, this would set up another unelected board, the Wildlife and EcosystemConservation Commission (WECC) whose members are appointed as you see in screenshot 2.

Note the highlighting. In Ag? In oil or gas? Sorry, you are specifically excluded from being on this board.

And lastly, take a look at screenshot 3 which outlines the WECC's duties.

Even by page 3 where my attached screengrabs stop, there is plenty to be concerned with. If you read farther, you'll see yet more. For example, the requirements for new infrastructure projects.

This initiative is troubling enough. I do not like the idea that this may be the opening salvo of a group. If you hear about more or if you hear about details about this please share with me so I can post and alert others. I will do my best to keep my eyes and ears open too.

Please share the link and information below with friends or others who you think might be interested.

https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiatives/2025-2026%2520%252382.pdf

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You get to help subsidize Boulder’s Sundance Film Festival.

I'm with Caldara here when he says that "...the taxpayers from all the far-flung corners of Colorado who will get almost nothing out of this corporate welfare except some pictures of celebrities in the news. Taxpayers in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction and every little town in between are paying Robert Redford’s organization to make the state’s richest city just a little more wealthy."

In Caldara's op ed below (the source of the quote), he talks about something that lit up social media for a hot minute recently: due (at least in part) to Utah's politics not being right (and by right I ironically mean not far enough left), the Sundance Film Festival is now coming to Boulder, with our state government giving generous tax breaks to them for it.

The commonly-made arguments for such things are that the boost in economic activity generated by festivals, etc. drawn by tax breaks more than make up for the money we spend to get them here.

Let's put that aside for a minute and let reality in. Whatever economic benefits accrue from this will do so in corridor leading from DIA out to Boulder; it will be flying in, spending, and flying back out in that narrow region.

And that's it.

The ones paying for the tax break won't just be those in the corridor, however. It will be you and I. As Caldara has it, people like me on the Plains won't see a bit of extra activity unless some hapless tourist goes the wrong way on the highway and is so clueless as to mistake Sterling for Boulder.

Be sure to send a thanks to Governor Polis and the legislative Democrats for their "success".

https://completecolorado.com/2025/04/16/state-taxpayers-subsidize-sundance-film-festival-boulder/