I urge Colorado to vote NO on Proposition 127. As the first woman appointed to the Colorado Wildlife Commission (then Division of Wildlife) in its 109-year history, I was also chair of the Commission and a founding board member of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). I understand the critical importance of responsible wildlife management. Yet, there is an ongoing effort to undermine Colorado’s time-tested, science-backed wildlife policies by removing mountain lion hunting as a regulated management tool.

What many voters may not realize is this policy change will not eliminate the need to manage mountain lion populations — far from it. In fact, this misguided initiative will only shift the burden to wildlife managers, potentially leading to more mountain lions killed by the state than are currently harvested by hunters.

Since California’s hunting ban, the state agency has had to euthanize more than 3,000 mountain lions. During many of these years, the agency’s take has exceeded what hunters legally harvested. Proponents of this initiative would have voters believe stopping the regulated hunting of mountain lions will somehow result in less harm to these animals. This simply isn’t true. Lions will still be managed to protect public safety and balance populations on the landscape. The difference is management will no longer be done in a controlled, regulated way that engages sportsmen and women in conservation efforts, but rather by government officials responding to dangerous or problematic lion encounters.

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The harsh reality is mountain lions, like other large predators, can pose serious threats to human safety. In California, a state that has restricted mountain lion hunting for decades, the consequences are alarming. Since 2014, there have been 12 mountain lion attacks on people, nine of which involved victims who were 7 years old or younger. This is a horrifying reality for families living in areas where mountain lion populations have become less fearful of human presence, and it begs the question: is this the future we want for Colorado?

The initiative’s proponents would have you believe banning mountain lion hunting is about protecting wildlife. But let’s not be fooled by the rhetoric. Just look at what happened with the recent introduction of wolves to Colorado — a decision made primarily by voters on the Front Range, many of whom will never have to live with the day-to-day realities of their choice. The local communities that now coexist with wolves are feeling the detrimental effects on their livestock, wildlife and way of life. The very same people behind that effort are pushing this mountain lion initiative. Once again, this isn’t a decision made with the best interests of Coloradans or our wildlife in mind. Instead, it’s driven by outside interests with a broader agenda.

Make no mistake, this isn’t about Colorado for the funders of this initiative, many of whom are based in Washington, D.C. This is about pushing extreme policies that will shatter more than a century of sound scientific wildlife management. Their ultimate goal is to sweep these radical ideas across all western states, starting with Colorado. They hope the current administration’s support will help them pass these extreme measures, leaving local communities, wildlife managers and future generations to deal with the consequences.

Colorado has long been a model for wildlife conservation and management, striking a delicate balance between protecting our natural heritage and ensuring public safety. This has been achieved through regulated hunting, scientific management and input from a diverse range of stakeholders. It’s a system that works. By removing regulated hunting as a management tool, we risk upending this system and replacing it with reactionary, bureaucratic decision-making that benefits no one — not wildlife, not local communities and certainly not outdoor enthusiasts who care deeply about the health of our ecosystems.

This ballot initiative is not good for Colorado. It’s not good for our wildlife. And it’s not the way we should be managing our natural resources. We must stand together to protect Colorado’s proud legacy of science-based wildlife management and reject these extreme, out-of-state agendas. The future of our wildlife and the safety of our communities depend on it.

Rebecca Frank, a Colorado native, is the first woman appointed to the Colorado Wildlife Commission (formerly the Division of Wildlife). She was later appointed as chair of the Commission. Her leadership also played a pivotal role in the creation and passage of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO), a landmark initiative that directs state lottery funds to the protection of wildlife, parks, rivers, trails and open spaces across Colorado.