Want to Sell a Wildlife Photo or Piece of Art? A New Colorado Permit Could Be Coming
~by Anne Boswell
Wildlife photographers could have a new requirement and fee coming to them if a petition makes its way on the agenda of a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting.
Colorado resident Patt Dorsey submitted the petition this summer.
It would mean that if you want to photograph Colorado's wildlife and sell the prints or use them for paid gain, such as on a website, you would need to pay up.
Dorsey is asking that resident photographers apply each year for a permit to photograph wildlife and pay $35 dollars. Out-of-state photographers would pay $100, and commercial photography operations would pay $250 annually.
Photographers taking photos for their own personal enjoyment would not have to pay the fee. However, some have argued that a photo might be taken for fun, not profit but later be sold. How would the permit fees work in that case? And the permit wouldn't just apply to photographers, artists painting or drawing Colorado wildlife. The petition defines wildlife as
Dorsey, in her petition, states that hunters and anglers contribute to the conservation costs through their license fees so why shouldn't wildlife photographers?
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has yet to act on the petition in meetings to advance it to the rule making process. The petition was filed in July.
While not yet up for discussion, you can voice your concerns to the commission on the petition, here:
From the petition, there are some definitions that you might find useful:
Proposed Annual Wildlife Photographer/Artist Permit Fee Schedule: For purposes of this fee schedule, an “Individual” is any natural person who personally creates wildlife photography or artwork and commercially distributes it in their own name or as a sole proprietor. A “Commercial Entity” is any business, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, agency, stock photography platform, publisher, or other organization that commercially distributes Colorado wildlife imagery, regardless of whether that organization employs the creators directly. A photographer operating an LLC or other business entity for the purpose of commercial distribution would be classified as a Commercial Entity for permit purposes.
There are a lot of questions from just reading over the petition that was submitted. What if a photographer is on vacation in Colorado, sees an eagle, takes a photo and later decides to sell it as a print? Would the CPW be in charge of investigating this? How would you prove it was taken in Colorado? There are many states in the west that would have the same trees and plants.
While there's nothing scheduled as of this writing, the petitioner, Dorsey, included the following ask to start the rule making process and answer some of these questions.
Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-4-103, the Petitioner respectfully requests that the Commission schedule a rulemaking hearing to consider the proposed Wildlife Photographer/Artist Permit and take public comments on its scope, fee structure, and implementation. The Petitioner further requests that CPW prepare a draft permit rule for Commission consideration within a reasonable timeframe following acceptance of this petition.
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