New CPW appointees drawing criticism

DENVER, CO., July 11, 2025 – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced a slew of appointments to the state's boards and commissions, including Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Frances Silva Blayney of Colorado Springs and Dr. John Emerick of Redstone were the Governor’s appointees that he said will “bring down the temperature and move away from any politicization of this board.”

According to a Polis administration statement, Emerick is a retired professor of environmental biology and "a leading voice in stream, riparian, and wetland ecology." Emerick has authored books on Colorado’s ecosystems and "founded multiple watershed health and restoration efforts in the Roaring Fork and Crystal River valleys."

Emerick has chaired the Crystal River Caucus and is a board member for conservation organizations such as the Wilderness Workshop.

Emerick is also the current treasurer of Colorado Wild, one of the state's wolf advocacy groups. He is also tied to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, the main backer of Proposition 114, which led efforts to bring the state’s wolf reintroduction program through a ballot initiative in 2024. The president of Colorado Wild is Emerick's partner, Delia Malone, who is also the wildlife chair for the Colorado Sierra Club and a frequent attendee at CPW commission meetings, where she advocates for wolves and against hunting.

The governor's press release said Silva Blayney is "a professional fly-fishing outfitter, small business owner, and longtime public lands advocate. She co-owns Canopy Fly Fishing, the only mother-daughter outfitting business in Colorado, she has held leadership positions with the Colorado Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, and numerous local environmental and water protection initiatives. She is drawing some criticism from the sportsmen community and being called a full unknown to her stakeholders.

Silva Blayney's flyfishing company, Canopy was registered with the Secretary of State on May 30, 2023. Outfitters are required to be registered with the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which Silvia Blayney obtained on April 1, 2025. That registration is required before an outfitter can obtain a river access permit.

Source: Rachel Gabel, Western Ag Network