Colorado has 43 world-class state parks, 350 wildlife areas, more than 960 wildlife species, and 23 million acres of public lands. So, how does Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) manage it all while also trying to inspire new generations to protect it? Aside from our incredible full-time staff and volunteers, we get support from an amazing community of donors who fund CPW’s various outdoor recreation, conservation, and educational programs.
Living in Colorado makes a love for the outdoors inevitable. Natural beauty surrounds us, and spending time in nature enriches our lives. Colorado residents pride themselves on the beauty of our state, and rightfully so, but it’s all of our responsibility to take care of it. Because if we don’t protect it and teach future generations how to serve as stewards of our land, wildlife, and water, then we risk not sustaining healthy landscapes and ecosystems.
Donors Make a Difference – Why should you donate?
Donors make a big difference in all facets of CPW’s work. Every contribution goes a long way to help protect our wildlife and natural spaces, support our state parks and outdoor recreational opportunities, and introduce new people to the wonders of Colorado’s great outdoors.
Donations to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Support three main areas of CPW work
- Wildlife & Conservation: By supporting our wildlife and conservation efforts, you help support Colorado’s most precious natural resources. From rivers to mountain tops, cutthroat trout to bighorn sheep, you support the very essence of what makes Colorado, Colorado.
- State Parks & Recreation: Donating to state parks and outdoor recreation supports your favorite outdoor activities and the places you love to do them. Your donation keeps you and others like you hiking, camping, rock climbing, and biking through Colorado’s amazing state parks and great outdoors.
- Educate & Inspire: Colorado Parks and Wildlife is committed to breaking down the barriers to Colorado’s natural spaces. We provide community programs, how-to seminars, classroom curriculum, conservation workshops, and other outreach opportunities for Coloradans and visitors. By supporting our efforts to educate and inspire, you help a new generation live life outside.
Additional programs funded by donors that have made a significant impact on nurturing our natural resources and local communities include:
Agents of Discovery
Agents of Discovery is an augmented reality gaming platform, inspired by Pokémon GO, that provides free self-guided experiences to learn about our state parks in fun and engaging ways. Agents of Discovery is available at 14 Colorado state parks, and guests have played more than 17,700 missions.
Get Outdoors Day in Colorado Springs
Get Outdoors Day is a free annual event sponsored by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the City of Colorado Springs, UCHealth, Scheels, Sportsmen for Community, Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, Peak Radar, and Pikes Peak Heritage Series. The event was attended by more than 5,000 people, many of which are families looking for fun adventures in the outdoors. The event’s goal is to encourage our community to get outdoors and enjoy our many opportunities for outdoor recreation. This year’s event highlight was free fishing poles gifted to 800 kids, all funded by donors.
River Safety in Schools
The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area’s River Safety in Schools Program aims to saturate the Arkansas Valley with basic river safety knowledge and equipment, starting with local children. Third-grade students receive a classroom education on the importance of life jackets, self-rescue, hazard identification, and river ethics. Then, they are fitted with a life jacket to keep. When the child outgrows this first life jacket, they can trade it in for a more oversized universal life jacket to continue to float into adulthood. This program is a cooperative partnership with local elementary schools, fire departments, recreation departments, businesses, and non-profits.
CPW K9 Program
CPW has three extraordinary officers who come to work on four legs. K9s Cash, Sampson, and Sci put their talents to use helping their two-legged colleagues find and gather evidence in poaching cases, release bears that are being relocated away from populated areas to safer spaces, and even sniff out endangered species like boreal toads and Black-Footed Ferrets. They are also some of CPW’s most popular teachers and participate in educational presentations at schools and communities across the state.
Other donor-funded programs include:
- Overlook Colorblind-Friendly Viewing Stations at Ridgway State Park
- Sparking Stewardship: Interpretive Sign Replacement at Highline Lake
- Waterfowl Hunting at Sweitzer Lake State Park
- Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) Fire Safety Campaign
- Colorado Seed Tool Improvements 2024
- Interpretive Trailhead Facility Improvements
- Golden Gate Canyon State Park Visitor Center Interpretive Display Redesign
- Outdoors for All: Pen Friends and Sensory Backpacks
- Impacts of Road Salts on Cutthroat Trout and Boreal Toad Populations
CPW Day of Giving on July 25
CPW Day of Giving, held on July 25, 2024, is a 24-hour fundraising campaign to support Colorado’s state park and wildlife programs. All dollars raised are invested back into the CPW programs and projects that help make Colorado, Colorado.
In 2023, donors raised over $6,000 in one day!
Every contribution goes a long way toward protecting our wildlife and natural spaces, supporting our state parks and outdoor recreational opportunities, and introducing new people to the wonders of Colorado’s great outdoors.
Give back to the outdoor spaces we love.
How to Participate
- Donate to the CPW Day of Giving on July 25
- Learn more about CPW’s philanthropy program at cpw.state.co.us/donate
Written by Bridget O’Rourke. Bridget is a Statewide Public Information Officer and Marketing and Communication Specialist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
