DENVER – Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is hosting a 24-hour fundraising campaign, CPW Day of Giving, on July 27, 2023, to raise funds in support of CPW’s programs and projects while increasing awareness of how donors can support CPW in a valuable way.
CPW’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s wildlife resources, provide a quality state parks system, and provide enjoyable and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that educate and inspire current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources.
Colorado is home to 42 world-class state parks, more than 960 species of wildlife and 23 million acres of public lands, ranging from wetlands to forests, canyon landscapes to mountain lakes. Join us in keeping Colorado, Colorado.
Donors make a big difference in the work of CPW. 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 all the wonders of Colorado’s great outdoors.
All dollars raised through the Day of Giving will sponsor CPW programs and projects. Below are five programs our donors help support:
- 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.
- Colorado’s Conservation Data Explorer (CODEX) is an interactive mapping tool that hosts critical natural resource data for conservation planners and decision-makers in Colorado. The project allows users to screen a project area for potential impacts on threatened, endangered and special concern species and their habitats. CODEX brings together data to support conservation planning, recreation planning, the conservation easement process, environmental review, evaluation of conservation portfolios, education and more.
- Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: River Watch is a CPW program composed of volunteers from 122 different public, private, and charter school groups, watershed organizations, and dedicated individuals who monitor 274 river sites throughout Colorado. Each year these volunteers gather the samples that provide CPW scientists with data about aquatic habitat quality, including measuring the levels of nutrients and metals in streams.
- CPW K9 Program: CPW has three extraordinary officers that 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 have even sniffed out endangered species like Boreal Toads and Black Footed Ferrets. They also are some of CPW’s most popular teachers and participate in educational presentations at schools and communities across the state.
- The Aquatic Toxicology Program has allowed CPW to increase the technical and scientific services provided and conduct much-needed research on Western Slope threatened and endangered fish species. From invasive species like zebra mussels to monitoring survival and stress hormones of Cutthroat Trout, measuring the effect of water temperature on Colorado’s native fish populations, and extensive sampling of the state’s fish hatcheries, the Aquatic Toxicology Program is providing valuable data to improve water quality policies and inform management decisions.
Give back to the outdoor spaces we love. Support Colorado Parks and Wildlife and donate today!
For more information on CPW’s philanthropy program, visit cpw.state.co.us/donate.