With more than 9,000 miles of rivers, 2,000 natural lakes and streams, it’s as if Mother Nature had fishing in mind when she created Colorado.
Conservation is at the heart of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s mission. And no other scientific principle is more responsible for creating Colorado’s enormous abundance of fish, wildlife and its world-class outdoor recreation.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife launches walleye study to assess population dynamics at Lake Pueblo, Chatfield reservoir and Cherry Creek Colorado reservoir.
Each year, CPW conducts fishery surveys of our rivers and reservoirs. The periodic monitoring collects and records the biological data needed to guide fishery management in Colorado. (Video)
Thanks to successful reintroduction and management by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado’s moose are now one of the fastest-growing herds in the lower 48 states.
Despite Colorado’s abundant fish populations, most fish cannot successfully reproduce in the wild. And, of those species that are able to reproduce naturally, recruitment (the number of juvenile fish that actually survive to be added to a population) is often too low to support a fishable population. To ensure that there are enough fish to stock every year, CPW sets up spawn-collection sites at lakes and reservoirs across the state.
In mid-September Biologist Dan Cammack walked slowly along the edge of a boggy pond in the San Juan Mountains high above the San Luis Valley and peered into the mud and black water looking for a camouflaged critter the size of a dime.
Wearing waders and lots of bug spray, Lance, fellow bat Biologist Heather Halbritter, several other CPW staff, and I were going out every 15 minutes to the river below us hoping to catch a specific nocturnal animal: a bat.
Colorado’s pheasant and quail seasons open statewide Nov. 9, 2019. Pheasant hunters can expect improved bird populations over last season. Big-game hunters can also enjoy some additional access this year on Colorado’s popular Walk-In-Access (WIA) program. Watch the video for further details.
When most think of the rut in Colorado, their minds picture bugling, battling, big-boy bull elk; mule deer bucks locking antlers in Greco-Romanesque scuffles; whitetail bucks laser focused on tending to their does; and the NFL-helmet-on-helmet-like crash of bighorn rams. What few picture is the equally impressive battles and behaviors that take place during the pronghorn rut.
A non-native fish, and one that is a hybrid, the Tiger Muskie plays a small, albeit, important role in the management of fisheries across Colorado.
Colorado Outdoors, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s magazine, features a wealth of information for hunters, anglers and outdoors enthusiasts.
