James L. Hicks

James L. Hicks 1944-2024
James L. "Jim" Hicks was born in Denver in 1944. His military family moved often, but he had fond memories of the years in Panama which gave him a wider world view. He served in the Navy from 1963-1967. After earning a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University, Hicks began his 33-year career as a Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) Conservation Officer and Terrestrial Biologist.
In 1975 Jim settled in Steamboat Springs and made his mark through land conservation in Routt County. He envisioned and worked for many of the protected recreational areas we use today. "Truly one cannot look anywhere along the Yampa River and Emerald Mountain without seeing Jim's vision. The Yampa Valley would not look the same today without Jim Hicks," recollects Linda Kakela, former Director of Intergovernmental Services for Steamboat Springs. Hicks and Kakela collaborated for more than 15 years on large scale funding for projects along the Yampa River and Emerald Mountain.
"Jim played a major role in bringing attention to the problems of the Yampa," said Kakela. The trout population was depleted and there were few legal public access sites from the Flattops in south Routt County to Dinosaur National Monument in northwest Moffat County.
Hicks drove programs to:
Protect wetlands and give public access from the KOA campground through downtown Steamboat and within Rotary Park and the Chuck Lewis Wildlife Area,
Build an accessible fishing pier at Casey's Pond,
Improve the Sarvis Creek State Wildlife Area and Steamboat Springs fisheries with the Steamboat Fly Fishers club.
Hicks was passionate about elk. He flew the upper Yampa deer and elk census flights for 27 years to monitor the population. He advocated for elk winter and calving habitat as a key stakeholder in the:
Stagecoach Reservoir wildlife mitigation plan: In 1987, the plan protected elk winter range on Blacktail Mountain through land purchases and conservation easements.
Catamount Ski Area proposal: In 1993, his study of critical elk habitat effectively cautioned the community in the face a new ski area and high-income housing development plan.
Sarvis Creek Wilderness Completion Act: In 2024, a bill was introduced to Congress to include 6,817 acres that were excluded from the original Wilderness proposal. Hicks was a driving force behind a local group working with the Sierra Club that wrote and lobbied for the bill. The bill was introduced just before his death.
The biggest problem that I foresee [in wildlife management] is the loss of critical wildlife habitat The western slope will change rapidly in the next 20 years. I hope we will not look back then and find we have lost our good wildlife populations. – Jim Hicks, 1983 (Barnett, J., & Hall, M. (1983) Three Wire Winter. Fall (17), 26-29.
Hicks also spearheaded the plan for reclamation of Routt County surface coal mines, and an inventory that led to the state designation of plains sharp-tailed grouse as an endangered species. In 2005, he headed a program to reintroduce bighorn sheep, the Colorado state animal, to the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness. It was the realization of 25 years of work and Hicks retired in 2005.
Hicks was an avid outdoorsman-camping, hiking, skiing, fishing, and hunting. He served the outdoor community as a board member of Routt County Search & Rescue in the 1980s and taught Hunter Safety classes for years. For his children's school classes, he gave talks about wildlife and outdoor recreation, occasionally accompanied by a wild bird. He would take in wild animals needing rehabilitation and influenced the founder of Born Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. He enjoyed wildlife photography, history and reading.
Jim Hicks is survived by his wife, Becky; his adult children, Beth and Brock Hicks; and two younger brothers, Timothy and Patrick Hicks.
The public is welcome to join us for a Celebration of Life on Sunday, July 21, from 1- 4 p.m. in Hahns Peak at 61519 Cottonwood St. Arrivals at 1 p.m. and Recollections at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness Expansion Project (https://www.sarviscreekwildernessexpansion.org) or QR code. https://gofund.me/b6bf47cb