Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office

Black-footed ferrets once numbered in the tens of thousands, but the weasel-like animals almost disappeared because of a combination of human-induced threats. Twice in the 20th century, they were thought to be extinct. Today, they are the focus of a broad recovery effort.

An important role in the black-footed ferret species reintroduction...

Colorado butterfly plant is found in southeastern Wyoming, north-central Colorado, and western Nebraska. This unique plant was removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2019 due to successful recovery efforts with conservation partners.

Populations on F.E. Warren Air Force...

Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office is involved with recovery efforts of federally endangered greenback cutthroat trout. We are a part of the Greenback Cutthroat Recovery Team and participate as subject matter experts in document reviews. Our staff assists Colorado Parks and Wildlife with numerous greenback cutthroat trout...

Since the late-1990's the US Air Force Academy, in partnership with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program has conducted annual population and monitoring surveys for the Preble's meadow jumping mouse. This is the longest continuous database for this species' population data.

Riparian zones on the base support...

U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot partnered with the Idaho Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit in 2015 and 2017 to band and satellite tag burrowing owls on the base. This research is part of a larger study tracking the migratory paths of burrowing owls across a range of habitats in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The goal of the research is to...

Rio Grande Suckers, a state endangered fish species, and Rio Grande Chubs are found in small streams in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. Both species have been petitioned for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The Baca National Wildlife Refuge is home to rare native populations of both species....

The boreal toad is listed as a Colorado state threatened species. Chyrid fungus causes an infectious disease that affects amphibian species worldwide and has reduced boreal toad populations across its range. Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office staff assists Colorado Parks and Wildlife with boreal toad breeding surveys and tadpole re-introduction around...

U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot contains some of the oldest undisturbed shortgrass prairie habitat in the Colorado, which is home to a variety of wildlife including burrowing owls, swift foxes, ferruginous hawks, golden eagles, coyotes, and badgers. Many of these species rely on black-tailed prairie dog populations for food and habitat. A major plague event in...

The Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office is supportive of partnerships with universities to both meet programmatic requirements and to facilitate the progression of student experience in fisheries, wildlife, ecology and natural resources management. Our office has funded and supported graduate level research from a variety of universities including; Colorado State University, CSU-...