Colorado Parks and Wildlife invests in wildlife and habitat conservation efforts using oil and gas fees

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announces new wildlife and habitat restoration initiatives funded by oil and gas fees, highlighting a major step in conservation efforts to protect natural resources.

DATE: July 6, 2026

DENVER — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is investing in eight new conservation efforts through funds raised by fees authorized by Senate Bill 24-230 to address the impacts of oil and gas production on Colorado wildlife and ecosystems in alignment with CPW’s 2026-2036 Strategic Plan and Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy (COS). 

“SB24-230 was an innovative, collaborative, and common-sense way to protect our wildlife, outdoor spaces, and important habitats from the effects of oil and gas production. Every Coloradan cherishes Colorado’s iconic natural beauty and these funds help CPW conserve and protect wild spaces that drive our tourism, create outdoor recreation opportunities, and are home to the wildlife Colorado is known for. These funds show the way that industry and conservation can find a path forward to better protect the great outdoors that make our state amazing and unique,” said Governor Polis. 

These investments are a collective commitment to the goals outlined in Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy, a statewide framework that aligns state, local, and regional partners around shared conservation and recreation priorities. Informed by the latest research, these projects directly support the strategy’s goal of ensuring wildlife biodiversity, maintaining connected habitats, and benefiting communities and economies from healthy ecosystems. This important work simultaneously advances CPW’s 2026-2036 Strategic Plan, which seeks to support healthy wildlife populations and habitats. 

“These additional projects showcase how fees collected from oil and gas operations will be used to restore and protect habitat for Colorado’s wildlife,” said CPW Director Laura Clellan. “CPW will continue to work with industry partners, conservation organizations and local communities to ensure that funded projects deliver measurable impacts that mitigate the impacts of oil and gas operations.”

The eight new wildlife conservation efforts include:

Greenback Recovery Capacity ($287,149 Annually)
Provides a dedicated team to lead native species conservation efforts for Greenback Cutthroat Trout recovery, which can be affected by water use and water quality effects from oil and gas production. These efforts are crucial to preventing the species from being federally listed and securing its future habitat.

Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program Request for Proposal ($4,000,000 Annually)
Provides Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program (CWHP) funding opportunities for landowners who want to protect important wildlife habitat, provide public wildlife-related recreational access or sell property to CPW. The additional funding will improve wildlife connectivity and migration corridors and slow biodiversity loss to help address the effects of oil and gas operations. 

Habitat Conservation and Connectivity Plan Implementation ($1,000,000 Annually)
Implements the Habitat Conservation and Connectivity Plan, which prioritizes wildlife species and addresses barriers to wildlife connectivity and migration corridors across Colorado to help offset impacts in areas affected by oil and gas operations. Additional funds will help implement the Habitat Conservation Team’s restoration and land protection targets. Projects include invasive weed control, forest/riparian restoration, and the construction of wildlife-friendly fencing and fish passage installations to support wildlife on the move.

Native Plant Coordinator and Warehouse ($572,202 Annually)
Establishes the first-ever full-time CPW position to manage the Native Seed Warehouse located in Delta, Colorado, to support large-scale habitat reclamation and promote native species conservation. CPW and partners currently lack adequate native plant materials to restore habitats impacted by energy extraction and climate events, such as wildfires. Funding will modernize equipment and scale operations to meet growing legislative and conservation demands for native seeds. CPW’s ability to plant native wildflowers and grasses helps grow healthy and robust habitats.

Black-footed Ferret and Prairie Dog Management ($1,636,963 Annually)
Creates a holistic management program with a dedicated wildlife biologist and eight temporary staff, to establish stable Black-footed ferret (BFF) recovery sites and mitigate plague outbreaks, which are indirectly influenced by climate impacts and threaten native ecosystem stability. This will support the protection of wildlife and habitats for an important native species in Colorado.

Cumulative Impacts Disturbance Index ($950,000 Year 1)
Develops a database to track the effects of past and present habitat loss due to human activity across the state. This will assist in the continued research and monitoring of threats to Colorado wildlife and ecosystems, including from climate change and oil and gas operations, and will provide CPW staff with a vital tool during Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission permitting reviews, enabling a data-driven understanding of ecosystem overlap and impacts. 

SWAP Species Management ($2,000,000 Annually)
Provides dedicated funding for the implementation of the 2025–2035 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), approved by the USFWS in January 2026, to promote native species conservation in Colorado. The SWAP acts as the primary roadmap for conserving Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and describes the effects of oil and gas operations on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife in Colorado.

Water Acquisition ($2,000,000 One-time)
Purchases a senior water right for Golden Gate Canyon State Park and Ralston Creek State Wildlife Area, which is ranked by CPW’s Aquatic Section as the highest priority water right in the state. The funding will help protect and restore important watersheds and riparian habitats in Colorado.

The first round of wildlife and habitat projects funded through Senate Bill 24-230 fees, announced in April, used $5,477,765 for seven identified remediation projects that will increase habitat restoration, wildlife monitoring, pollinator garden planting, species conservation, and strategic land and water protection efforts across Colorado. 

One project funded in the first round of allocations was $85,000 toward Columbian sharp-tailed grouse translocations, which involves strategically capturing and moving birds from one population to another. Oil and gas operations are prevalent in the areas where these species are found in the state. These translocations support genetic diversity and help maintain population health, conserving one of Colorado’s unique native species.

CPW continues to use these new fees to mitigate the impacts of oil and gas operations, with the next round of conservation projects to be funded in fiscal year 2026. 

For more information on Colorado Parks and Wildlife conservation work, visit cpw.state.co.us or subscribe to CPW’s Conservation eNews to receive monthly updates on ongoing conservation projects in Colorado.