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Hunters and anglers treasure Colorado's vast outdoors for its beauty and its bounty, but many fear for the future of the state's public lands.

Chamois Andersen is a native Coloradan, born in Estes Park, and is a lifelong outdoors enthusiast who focuses primarily on fly fishing. Andersen manages outdoor programs for the Defenders of Wildlife. She said she learned to fish from her father and values the memories and stewardship that were passed down to her.

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"What I love to do is put my waders on and wade right into the middle of the river," she said. "It’s really incredible to be casting while standing with water flowing all around you, looking for the ‘risers,’ and just being so present and grateful that nature is surrounding me."

Andersen finds fly casting both challenging and rewarding, and said it's important to take care of the state's natural resources. She practices catch and release, and added there are other important ways to preserve the outdoors through conservation.

Colorado's outdoor recreation industry accounts for almost $37 billion in state GDP annually and supports more than 400,000 jobs. But Andersen said the state's outdoor economy could suffer under plans by conservative politicians to redirect the state's public lands to commercial interests.

"As we saw this summer, and we continue to see, these lands are under threat," she continued. "The current administration, even many members of Congress, are pushing a rather severe agenda that benefits the extractive industry like oil and gas and logging and mining."

Andersen said Colorado's current system of funding the maintenance of public lands for hunting and angling needs to be protected.

"So when hunters and anglers buy their gear, a tax goes toward conserving those species or conserving wildlife species," she said. "Those contributions toward wildlife through hunting and angling activities are really important for protecting our wildlife species and conserving habitats."