Two days after the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted against confirming John Emerick and Christopher Sichko to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, both men withdrew their nominations.

The committee rejected Emerick on a 2–5 vote and Sichko on a 3–4 vote.

Their nominations — along with that of a third nominee, Francis Blayney — were scheduled for a full Senate vote on Friday. The Senate approved Blayney’s nomination; the nominations of Emerick and Sichko were laid over until May 14, the day after the session ends.

Even if a committee rejects a nominee, the full Senate still has the final say. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee has voted down Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission nominees in the past, but several of those nominees were ultimately confirmed by the full Senate anyway.

Blayney, nominated to represent outfitters, received unanimous support from the committee in a 7–0 vote. Her nomination was then placed on the Senate’s consent calendar, indicating the committee expected it to be approved by the full Senate without debate.

While she was an unknown in the outfitting community when she was nominated last July, she impressed the committee on Wednesday with her efforts to listen to the outfitters and stated she supports policies that value hunting and angling.

“Legal managed hunting is conservation,” she said.

Blayney, who has run a flyfishing company with her daughter for three years, also spoke in strong support of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, saying it has brought the country and the “overexploitation of wildlife to a place of abundance.” She said it provides guidelines for thoughtful wildlife management.

Emerick and Sichko did not impress the majority of the committee.

Sichko said one of his goals is to rebuild trust between CPW and the community he seeks to represent, a relationship damaged by the agency’s much-criticized wolf reintroduction program.

Sichko, who spent four years as an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said he understands the importance of Colorado agriculture to the state’s prosperity and of private lands for wildlife management.

“I believe in hunting and fishing as conservation tools and will defer to CPW staff expertise and recommendations,” Sichko told the committee.

Ag Committee Chair Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, told Emerick he was neither qualified nor prepared to serve on the commission.

He told Sichko he would have been better suited for the at-large seat, given his lack of experience in big-game hunting and his lack of understanding that big-game hunting funds the agency.

Emerick was nominated to an at-large seat on the commission. He is the former treasurer of Colorado Wild, a pro-wolf organization founded by his partner, Delia Malone. He is also a Republican and resident of the Western Slope, spent two decades teaching at the Colorado School of Mines, and has authored books on natural history.

Roberts said during Wednesday’s committee hearing that the at-large seat carries a special responsibility to move the commission forward by recognizing that the state is very diverse and that it has many points of view on wildlife management.

“I am concerned and have become more concerned after today’s hearing that you are not prepared to represent the at-large point of view on the commission,” Roberts told Emerick.

Sichko was selected to represent sportsmen and women, a seat that includes representing big game hunters. But Sichko has held only a small-game hunting license since 2021 and has never hunted big game, which was a strike against him in the committee’s view.

Roberts told Colorado Politics that while he respects both Sichko and Emerick’s desire to serve the state, “I believe their decisions to withdraw their nominations to the CPW Commission was a right one.”

The confirmation hearing Wednesday “made clear that they were not aligned with the mainstream of Colorado on these matters and their likely disapproval by the full Senate further reflects that,” Roberts said.

For the full Senate vote, two Democratic senators who were likely to vote in favor of Sichko and Emerick’s nominations were absent Friday, reducing the pair’s chances of receiving Senate approval.

The committee learned Wednesday that at least 12 other people with big-game hunting experience had applied for the seat Sichko was nominated for.

Those appointments would have helped restore public trust in the commission, he added, and suggested Gov. Jared Polis should go back to that list to fill those positions.

The governor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

John Howard, a member of the Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project and a former CPW commissioner, told Colorado Politics that the withdrawals were disappointing for sportsmen and women. He said he appreciated the nominees’ willingness to serve and noted that it can be a real sacrifice to go through the process only to be turned away.

However, he said the governor has stretched the limits of state law that outlines the qualifications required for commission seats. According to Howard, groups like his currently have no representation on a commission that has traditionally included voices from established conservation organizations.

“I appreciate the legislature stepping in and restoring some balance,” Howard said.

Gaspar Perricone, also representing CWCP, told Colorado Politics they appreciate the Senate’s leadership in seeking to restore balance and experience to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. “This outcome is a step towards restoring trust that the agency will be able to continue to advance science-based wildlife management.”