I think what Smoke is saying is the government isn't forcing you to buy a license. If you don't want to ,you don't have to.However,if you want to go hunting, which in CO is a privilege,not a right, then they make you buy that license.Like someone has already posted,it isn't anything except and other fee and they can't call it a tax .
It's like the road and bridge fee on CO vehicle registration. If they called them a tax,voters would have had to vote on it. Knowing that wouldn't pass,they called them a fee. CPW is doing the same thing with the blessing of the stare legislator.
