(1) The director is the head of the division under the direction and supervision of the commission and the executive director and has general supervisory control of and authority over all activities, functions, and employees of the division. (2) Repealed. (3) The director shall prepare such reports as the executive director shall require the commission or director to submit. (4) With the approval of the commission, the director shall authorize such scientific and other studies as are necessary and shall collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data, and other information which in his discretion will tend to accomplish the objectives of articles 1 to 6 of this title and the state policy set forth in section 33-1-101. (5) The director shall appoint Colorado wildlife officers and may appoint special wildlife officers to serve without pay, who shall have the powers and authority designated by the director. A special wildlife officer commission shall not be issued until the applicant has submitted to the division an application setting forth his or her qualifications to act as such an officer. Such qualifications shall include a minimum of forty hours of continuing law enforcement education per calendar year. The director may revoke the special wildlife officer commission of any such person at his or her pleasure. (6) The director and the executive director shall consult with the commission in the establishment of the division's budget and the expenditures of all moneys appropriated to the division by the general assembly. (6.5) The director, following notification of the commission, shall authorize an expenditure necessary to pay a local governing body for expenses incurred pursuant to section 35-5.5-110 (3), C.R.S. (6.7) The director shall certify to the state controller that commitment or payment vouchers submitted by local habitat partnership committees are consistent with distribution management plans and guidelines approved by the commission. Such certification is the only requirement necessary to authorize the state controller to disburse funds from the habitat partnership cash fund. (7) (a) The director shall appoint a council of nine persons to act as the "habitat partnership council", referred to in this section as the "council". The council has statewide responsibility and authority. (b) (I) The council shall consist of the following members: Two sports persons who purchase big game licenses on a regular basis in Colorado; two persons representing livestock growers in Colorado; one person from the United States department of agriculture forest service; one person from the United States department of the interior bureau of land management; one person from the Colorado state university range extension program; one person representing agricultural crop producers; and one person from the Colorado division of parks and wildlife. All persons on the council shall be residents of the state of Colorado. (II) Members of the council who will represent livestock growers and agricultural crop producers shall be chosen by the director from persons nominated by the local habitat partnership committees, pursuant to subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (d) of subsection (8) of this section. (III) For the initial appointments to the council, the terms of the four members representing sports persons and livestock growers shall be two years for one member of each group and four years for the other member of each group, after which all appointments shall be for four years. The term lengths for the members representing the various agencies shall be at the discretion of the respective agencies. There shall be no limit on the number of terms a member may serve. (c) The duties of the council are: (I) To advise local habitat partnership committees; (II) To assist in the dissemination of information concerning the habitat partnership program; (III) To review draft plans for compliance with program guidelines established by the commission and to recommend appropriate action by the commission; (IV) To monitor program effectiveness and to propose to the commission changes in guidelines and land acquisition planning and review as appropriate; (V) To advise the director whether or not payment vouchers submitted by local habitat partnership committees are consistent with distribution management plans approved by the commission; (VI) To report to the commission and to the senate agriculture, natural resources, and energy committee and the house of representatives agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee pursuant to section 33-1-112 (8); (VII) To allocate an annual budget to each local habitat partnership committee and submit each committee's budget for the director's final approval; and (VIII) To expend money as necessary in areas that are not covered by a local habitat partnership committee formed pursuant to subsection (8)(b) of this section to reduce wildlife and land management conflicts as the conflicts relate to big game ungulate species forage and fence issues, assist with private land conservation efforts, enhance wildlife migration corridors, and implement other management objectives. (d) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1727, § 1, effective June 3, 1996.) (8) (a) The habitat partnership program is hereby created to assist the division in its duties as deemed appropriate by the director: (I) By working with private land managers, public land management agencies, sports persons, and other interested parties to reduce wildlife conflicts, particularly those associated with forage and fence issues related to big game ungulate species; (II) By assisting the division in meeting game management objectives; (III) By assisting with private land conservation efforts; and (IV) In enhancing wildlife migration corridors. (b) The director may appoint a "habitat partnership committee", referred to in this subsection (8) as a "committee", in any area of the state where conflicts between wildlife and private land owners and managers engaged in the management of public and private land exist, as the conflicts relate to big game ungulate species forage and fence issues. (c) A committee shall consist of the following members: One sports person who purchases big game licenses on a regular basis in Colorado; three persons representing livestock growers in the area of the state in which the committee is being established; one person from each of the federal agencies that has land management responsibilities in such area of the state; and one person from the Colorado division of parks and wildlife. All persons on any such committee shall be residents of the state of Colorado. (c.5) Commencing on August 10, 2022, committee members serve for set terms as determined by the director. In setting committee members' terms, the director must provide for the staggering of committee members' terms and may allow committee members to serve an unlimited number of terms. (d) The duties of a committee are the following: (I) To develop big game distribution management plans to resolve rangeland forage, growing hay crop, harvested crop aftermath grazing, and fence conflicts subject to commission approval; (II) To monitor program effectiveness and to propose to the council changes in guidelines and land acquisition planning and review as appropriate; (III) To request for the committee, on an annual basis, funds from the council consistent with the distribution management plan developed by any such committee; (IV) To expend funds allocated by the council or acquired from other sources as necessary to implement distribution management plans; (V) To make an annual report of expenditures and accomplishments of the committee to the council by August 15 of each year; (VI) To nominate a person to act as a representative of agricultural livestock growers or crop producers to the habitat partnership council for the area of the state where such committee is organized; (VII) To reduce wildlife and land management conflicts as the conflicts relate to big game ungulate species forage and fence issues, assist with private land conservation efforts, enhance wildlife migration corridors, and achieve other management objectives. (e) (I) A committee may procure from land owners, land managers, or other providers materials or services as are necessary for carrying out activities identified in the distribution management plans pursuant to subsection (8)(d)(IV) of this section; except that a committee shall certify that a procurement is within the scope of the activities and funding levels authorized in a distribution management plan before procuring the materials or services. (II) For purposes of purchasing, accounting, and all procurement-related issues, the council and each committee is a separate, distinct, and independent organizational unit. (9) The director or the director's designee shall provide consultation regarding the impacts of the following research projects on wildlife: (a) Research projects for which the agricultural drought and climate resilience office awards money to study the use of agrivoltaics pursuant to section 35-1-114; and (b) A feasibility study through which the Colorado water conservation board, created in section 37-60-102, studies the use of floatovoltaics pursuant to section 37-60-115 (12).
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