Denver Bronco Mark Jackson in Ft. Collins Friday Evening to Promote a YES vote on Prop 127 for the Balance of Nature

Grand Lake, CO – Three-time Denver Broncos Super Bowl player Mark Jackson will be in Ft. Collins Friday, Oct. 25, 4:30-5:30 p.m. to talk about why he supports a YES vote on Prop 127 to protect wild cats from state-sanctioned cruelty.

Jackon is best known to all of Colorado as one of the Three Amigos and former wide receiver for the Denver Broncos. One of his biggest moments was catching the touchdown pass from John Elway known as “the Drive” that won the AFC championship over Cleveland, and he owns 3 Super Bowl rings. (See bio below)

“I’m a former Denver Broncos wide receiver, one of your three amigos. Yes, I am also a proud Colorado resident. I’ve enjoyed a successful career in the National Football League, but there’s something else that’s close to my heart. Proposition 127,” said Jackson, a tough, smart receiver and Hall of Famer John Elway’s go-to guy, who lives in Denver and does charity work for important causes such as Sisters of Color. “As Coloradans, we share a responsibility to honor the balance of nature and treat all living beings with respect. Trophy hunting simply disrupts this balance, exploiting innocent animals for selfish gains. Voting yes on Prop 127 sends a clear message, we won’t tolerate this cruelty. We cannot allow out -of -state hunters to chase down our mountain lions and bobcats with packs of dogs, turning a majestic animal’s life into a gruesome spectacle. Opponents may offer excuses, but we know it’s wrong. Let’s protect our wildlife and stand up for compassion. Please join me in voting YES on Prop 127.”

“Mark Jackson knows a thing or two about sports. And how it takes honor, ethicsand integrity to be on the right side of our best of humanity for life,” said Julie Marshall, who is a friend of Jackson from long ago where they met at Mattie Springfield’s neighborhood dance studio in Denver.

History of Prop 127 

Prop 127 is grassroots, borne of need, when politically appointed policymakers pushed aside a citizen petition signed by 208,000 citizens to end bobcat trapping. Five years later, Citizens attained 188,000 signatures to place Prop 127 on the ballot.

Prop 127 remedies where the Legislature failed to pass a bill to protect mountain lions from unwarranted cruelty. Two years later, 900 unpaid volunteers statewide went to work for this ballot measure. Lynx are included as a pre-emptive measure.

Prop 127 protects bobcats from being baited in nature, using cat food and terrorized by dogs.  An unlimited number of bobcats are allowed to be bludgeoned or strangled to death in Colorado —  965 in 2023, just to sell their fur at auction. Trappers number 700 or a tiny 0.01% of Colorado.

Methods are inhumane and cruel. Some say shoot ‘em in the eye, but angled down into the throat to avoid blood splatter that ruins the Chinese market price for fur coats. Others say hit her over the head. Copper pipe with a brass elbow is popular to crack a skull open.

Drowning has been used in Colorado, despite AVMA guidelines, because “a wet hide can make the fur slip.” So has acetone, injected into the heart, just for bobcats deemed a nuisance life.

Large cable ties around the neck pulled tight suffocates the cat who suffers greatly for 3 minutes, veterinarians say.

Another option used: shoot through the ear hole.

Prop 127 remedies the commodification of native wildlife that violates the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. It supports the Public Trust Doctrine, which says wildlife must be treated in the manner most appropriate for all citizens.

Prop 127 remedies violation of the North American Model tenet of fair chase where mountain lions are shot as though it were a canned hunt in Colorado, contained with no chance to survive the execution off a tree limb.

Prop 127 protects mountain lions from trophy hunting guides paid $8,500 to send a dog pack and contain any trophy lion in a tree. As advertised, these guides will “take you to your trophy,” where the dogs have “treed your trophy.”  Guaranteed 100%. The client is driven offroad into remote forest, as a phone app tracks the GPS signal bouncing off the dogs’ collars. Some dogs get hurt, suffering broken backs and have even been abandoned. There’s surplus dogs in case. It’s why 119 Colorado veterinarians say YES on Prop 127.

The client shoots, watching the lion fall. She doesn’t die, he executes her on the ground as she’s swarmed by dogs. There are 500 lions killed yearly as recreation. Just 0.03% of   Colorado ever wants to shoot an unoffending Colorado lion held in a tree for them as recreation.

About 250 of the 500 lions killed for trophies are females, which means kittens  die of starvation without mothers, says Dr. Rick Hopkins, PhD, lion researcher of four decades.

Prop 127 Follows Science & Ethics, not Trophy Hunters & Fur Trappers

Prop 127 offers 50 years of solid research and evidence on mountain lions and bobcats that informs voters of Colorado that the recreational killing of wild cats for their heads and fur is not management but recreational choice, based on values alone.

Prop 127 is supported by the state and nation’s leading wild cat scientists, has cited research and evidence to support the measure: Dan Ashe, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Elaine Leslie, former chief of biological resources for the National Park Service and a Durango resident who has conducted Colorado lion studies; plus Twenty-one other wildlife scientists, with field work experience with native wild cats.

Prop 127 is supported by the outspoken majority of both  current and past CPW commissioners. CPW commissioner Richard Reading, PhD, the sole wildlife biologist on the entire commission, says YES to support the North American Model. CPW’s commission sets all policy for the state of Colorado regarding wildlife.

Mark Jackson’s Bio:

Jackson was the guy that Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway looked for whenever a play broke down.  In his rookie season, Jackson caught two crucial passes in “The Drive.”  First was the 3^rd and 18 strike that gave the Broncos a 1^st down and breathing room, and of course the Touch Down reception in the Dawg Pound that silenced the crowd and sent the 1986 AFC Championship game versus the Cleveland Browns into overtime. The Broncos won that game and went on to the Superbowl.  “The Drive” is the most memorable series in NFL History and the only series that is affectionately referred to as “The Drive.”

Jackson was named Denver’s most valuable player for his performance in the 87’ AFC Championship Game vs. Cleveland, catching four passes for 134 yards including an 80 yard touchdown reception. He was also the leading receiver in Superbowl XXII that year.

Jackson is eighth in Bronco history in both receptions and yards and his 16.3 average per catch is ranked 3^rd. He also established the record for the longest reception in postseason play, 80 yards. A tough, smart receiver with an uncanny ability to get open, he played seven seasons with the Broncos. Jackson also played for the NY Giants and the Indianapolis Colts before retiring in 1995.  He has 334 receptions for 5,454 yards, a 16.3 average and 28 touchdowns and played in three Super Bowls for the Denver Broncos.

Mark Jackson has always had a presence in the community.  He’s done work with Big Brothers, Bonfils, Children’s Hospital (Red Wagon Race), D.A.R.E., Ronald McDonald House, Exempla Saint Joseph, The Center for African American Health, Muscular Dystrophy Association (Muscle Team), Shaka Franklin, Colorado Prevention Center’s Healthy Heart Program, Sisters of Color, Metro Denver’s Rebuild Together, Denver Street School, Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives and March of Dimes (Walk America/Mud Volleyball) just to name a few.  Mark has always welcomed the opportunity to lend his name, a strong hand and a glowing smile to those in need.