Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW)

Contact your local CPW office and ask to speak to a District Wildlife Manager to request prevention materials or file a claim; CPW staff provide the claim paperwork. The claimant must prove the damage was caused by big game and that the value claimed is reasonable.

Deadline text on the page: Claims are filed on discovery of damage: contact your local CPW office and ask to speak to a District Wildlife Manager immediately upon discovery of damage. Fencing offers must be accepted within 30 days; permanent materials must be installed within 270 days (15 days for temporary and apiary materials).

General office

CPW Headquarters

The Game Damage Program reimburses Colorado ranchers, farmers and landowners for damage caused by bighorn sheep, black bear, elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion, deer and pronghorn, and supplies temporary and permanent prevention materials such as stackyard fencing, elk panels and electric apiary fencing. Eligible losses include growing and harvested crops, fences, livestock, forage, orchards, nurseries and farm production property. Requests and claims start with the local District Wildlife Manager.



- Landowner may not unreasonably restrict hunting of species likely to cause damage, and may charge not more than $500 per person, per season, for big game hunting access.
- Covered species: bighorn sheep, black bear, elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion, mule and white-tailed deer, pronghorn.
- Not covered: nuisance wildlife (starlings, coyotes, pigeons, etc.); livestock damage caused by coyote, bobcats or dogs; motor vehicles; injury or death.
- Claims may be denied where the claimant refused or failed to use or maintain CPW-furnished prevention materials.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Landowner installs and maintains permanent materials for their normal life; CPW furnishes repair materials over $100. Doctrine of avoidable consequences applies (duty to mitigate).

Published amounts: Reimbursement at fair market value for damage to growing crops, harvested crops, lawful fences, livestock, livestock forage, nurseries, orchards and personal property used in the production of raw agricultural products; reduced by any insurance award for the same damages. Prevention materials (stackyard panels, fencing, apiary electric fencing, pyrotechnics) furnished by CPW.

Submit a claim to CPW after a confirmed depredation; contact the appropriate CPW regional office. The Wolf-Livestock Conflict Minimization Program Producer Guide and A Producer's Guide to Livestock Depredations are linked from the page.

Deadline text on the page: Claims follow a CPW-confirmed depredation incident; no application window.

Colorado livestock producers can be reimbursed the fair market value of livestock and guard or herding animals lost to confirmed gray wolf depredation, plus veterinary costs for injured animals. Producers on large open range can claim missing calves or sheep under a Basic Compensation Ratio or an Itemized Production Losses option that covers indirect losses such as lower weaning weights. CPW also provides conflict minimization materials to producers in affected areas.



- Livestock as defined in C.R.S. 33-2-105.8 and animals used for guard/herding purposes.
- The depredation incident must be confirmed by CPW.
- Basic Compensation Ratio and Itemized Production Losses options apply to cattle or sheep in large, open range settings once a confirmed wolf depredation occurs.

Fair market value up to $15,000 per animal; veterinary costs up to $15,000. By statute, hunting or fishing license revenue is not used to fund depredation reimbursements.

Published amounts: Livestock owners can be reimbursed the fair market value of the animal, up to $15,000, and veterinarian costs for injured livestock or guard/herding animals, up to $15,000. Open-range cattle and sheep operations can choose a Basic Compensation Ratio option or an Itemized Production Losses option.

Contact your local District Wildlife Manager or HPP administrative staff to discuss the project, complete the HPP project application with maps, itemized material lists or contractor quotes, seed mixes, photos and any required permits, and present the proposal at the local committee meeting for the project area.

Deadline text on the page: No statewide deadline; local committees "meet periodically in their areas to review project proposals". Committee meeting dates and locations are listed on each committee page.

Habitat Partnership Program

Michael Blanck

HPP State Council contact

The Habitat Partnership Program funds projects that reduce conflicts between big game (deer, elk, moose and pronghorn) and agriculture, especially forage and fence problems. Common projects include wildlife-friendly fence conversions, habitat improvements such as seeding, weed control, prescribed burns, forage leases and grazing management, water developments, conservation easement transaction costs and emergency winter conflict response. Anyone within one of the 19 local committee areas can propose a project; committees of livestock growers, sportspersons, federal land managers and CPW review and fund proposals.



- Anyone within a committee area can propose a project to their local committee.
- Contact the local District Wildlife Manager (DWM) or HPP administrative staff before applying; DWM involvement and meeting attendance are required (State Council guidelines).
- Agricultural status and hunting access are not required but are preferred (State Council guidelines).
- HPP requires a partnership: matching funds or in-kind contributions from the applicant.
- Conflict reduction or improved wildlife herd distribution outcomes are required for habitat improvement projects.

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Match (cash or in-kind) required for every project. HPP is not responsible for fencing livestock in or out. HPP will reimburse drilling costs for approved well projects only if enough water is found for a productive well. Virtual fence projects must comply with the HPP Virtual Fence Policy.

Published amounts: Matching contributions from project applicants are required for every project. No award range published; committees may adjust the level of funding.

Email the completed application worksheet and supporting documents to the CPW Regional Energy Liaison for the project's region with the subject line "SB-181 Mitigation Grant Application - (DATE OF SUBMISSION)".

Deadline text on the page: Currently Open: This grant application is open year round with a bi-annual review process. Applications received February 1 - July 31 are decided in August; August 1 - January 31 in February.

Andrew Newman

Regional Energy Liaison, Northeast Region

Taylor Elm

Regional Energy Liaison, Northwest Region

Carolyn Craveiro de Sa

Regional Energy Liaison, Southeast Region

Brian Magee

Regional Energy Liaison, Southwest Region

Colorado&#x2004;Parks and Wildlife reimburses qualified land trusts for the transaction costs of perpetual conservation easements on private land in CPW-mapped high-priority habitat near oil and gas development, such as appraisals, mineral reports, surveys and closing costs. Landowners do not apply directly: a land trust certified by the Colorado Division of Conservation applies on your behalf, following each CPW region's eligible counties or big game data analysis units. Applications are open year-round and reviewed twice a year.



Colorado Parks and Wildlife reimburses qualified land trusts for the transaction costs of perpetual conservation easements on private land in CPW-mapped high-priority habitat near oil and gas development, such as appraisals, mineral reports, surveys and closing costs. Landowners do not apply directly: a land trust certified by the Colorado Division of Conservation applies on your behalf, following each CPW region's eligible counties or big game data analysis units. Applications are open year-round and reviewed twice a year.

- Applicant must be a land trust currently certified by the Colorado Division of Conservation as qualified to operate in Colorado, in good standing.
- Projects must be permanent conservation easements (fee-title acquisition considered in some instances) and meet region-specific requirements (e.g., Northwest: Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Mesa or Jackson counties; Southwest: E-31 DAU; Northeast: listed pronghorn/deer DAUs; Southeast: mapped areas).

Typically paid as a reimbursement after the conservation easement closes; recipients submit closing documents and an itemized list of transaction costs, and send the easement's annual monitoring report to CPW by January 1 each year.

Published amounts: CPW cannot guarantee a minimum or maximum amount of available funds; available funding fluctuates with oil and gas permitting activity. Landowner attorney fees and third-party attorney fees above $20,000 are not funded.

Contact a nearby local Pheasants Forever chapter (chapter finder at coloradopf.com) to see what types of projects are available. Chapters often install the project; landowners with farm equipment may be asked to help.

Deadline text on the page: No deadline published; landowners begin by contacting a local Pheasants Forever chapter.

The Pheasant Habitat Improvement Program helps landowners in Colorado's core pheasant range create and enhance habitat for ring-necked pheasants and, in some cases, bobwhite and scaled quail. Example projects are tall grass in waste areas and sprinkler corners, sorghum food and cover plots, cropland incentives to retain tall wheat stubble, and shrub thickets. Most projects are installed by Pheasants Forever chapters at no out-of-pocket expense to the landowner.



- Landowners in the core pheasant range counties: Morgan, Southeastern Weld, Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma, Washington, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers and Baca.
- Projects must be designed to increase year-round survival of pheasants (and in some cases bobwhite and scaled quail).

Most projects are installed at no out-of-pocket expense to the landowner and increase opportunities for enrollment in the Small Game Walk-In Access Program.

Published amounts: Most projects are installed at no out-of-pocket expense to the landowner. Project examples include cropland incentives to retain tall wheat stubble. No dollar amounts published.

Contact a CPW office to offer land for enrollment (2026 Walk-in Atlas, "Enroll Your Property").

Deadline text on the page: Each property is enrolled on an annual basis in July of each year. 2026 Walk-in Atlas: "To offer land for the 2026-2027 season, please contact a CPW office for details."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife enrolls private farm and ranch land, mostly in eastern Colorado, each year for public walk-in hunting of small game, waterfowl, furbearers and, on some properties, big game. Landowners interested in enrolling land contact a CPW office. The published pages describe hunter rules and do not state landowner payment rates.



- Private land with quality hunting habitat; CPW enrolls properties annually in July.
- Access periods include Regular (Sept 1 - end of Feb), Late Season Cropland, Extended (through end of March) and Big Game (Sept 1 - end of Dec).

Payment per unit of land to do or avoid certain practices related to land management.

Easement

Access is by foot and hunting only; properties must be posted with WIA boundary signs. Sprinkler corners may be temporarily closed while the landowner harvests.

Published amounts: No landowner payment rates published on the live site.

Download and complete Parts 1-3 (Proposal Form, Budget Form, Supplemental Information) using the Proposal Instructions and Submission Instructions. Email final proposals to Wildlife.RealEstateProposals@state.co.us with the proposal title followed by "CWHP 2026 Proposal" in the subject line; Part 1 must be submitted in Word format. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their local CPW Area Wildlife Manager before submitting.

Deadline text on the page: The deadline to submit is October 15, 2026 at 5:00pm MST. (Submission Instructions PDF: Proposals will be accepted Monday, June 15, 2026, through Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 5pm.) Applicants will be notified of the Commission's final award decisions following the May 2027 Commission meeting.

Carmen Farmer

Land Protection Specialist and Program Manager

CWHP proposal submissions mailbox

The Colorado Wildlife Habitat&#x2004;Program buys conservation easements, public access easements and, in some circumstances, fee title from Colorado landowners who want to protect important wildlife habitat or open their land to public hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. The landowner is the applicant, though a land trust, local government, conservation organization or other third party may submit a proposal on the landowner's behalf. Proposals are scored by CPW staff and the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp Committee, and the Parks and Wildlife Commission approves awards.



The Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program buys conservation easements, public access easements and, in some circumstances, fee title from Colorado landowners who want to protect important wildlife habitat or open their land to public hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. The landowner is the applicant, though a land trust, local government, conservation organization or other third party may submit a proposal on the landowner's behalf. Proposals are scored by CPW staff and the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp Committee, and the Parks and Wildlife Commission approves awards.

- The landowner is the applicant; a land trust, local government, conservation organization or other representative (third party) may submit a proposal on behalf of a landowner.
- If the proposal involves a third party conservation easement, the third party must be qualified to hold conservation easements under federal and state law.
- 2026 funding priorities: significant public access for hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing; big game winter range and migration corridors; habitat for Species of Greatest Conservation Need; riparian areas and wetlands; landscape-scale parcels; connectivity to other conserved lands.
- 2026 funding preferences: lesser prairie-chicken habitat; biodiversity; CPW Habitat Conservation and Connectivity Plan priority landscapes; public right of way to landlocked public land; working farms and ranches; properties that support wildlife crossings.

Priority is given to conservation easements and public access easements over fee title per CPW policy and title 33-4-102.7 C.R.S. Proposals are evaluated October 2026 - February 2027, the Commission votes in May 2027, and CPW begins negotiations and due diligence in June 2027.

Published amounts: The 2026 CWHP budget is at least $11,000,000. No per-project minimum or maximum published.

Contact the Wetlands Program Coordinator before applying; submit the application electronically to the coordinator as a single file (PDF and MS-Word) under 20MB, listing a Project Manager and a CPW Project Sponsor.

Deadline text on the page: 2026 cycle: RFA announced December 30, 2025; applications due February 24, 2026. "Applications are closed. The next round of grant applications is expected to open in February 2027."

Brian Sullivan

Grants Program Coordinator

CPW Grants Unit

Colorado Parks and&#x2004;Wildlife's Wetlands for Wildlife grants pay for on-the-ground wetland and riparian restoration, enhancement and creation projects that improve duck abundance and public waterfowl hunting or help declining and at-risk species. Private landowners cannot apply directly: a local government, Tribe, nonprofit habitat conservation organization, agency or private company applies and manages the grant on your land, often arranged through your local wetland Focus Area Committee. Rounds open each winter; CPW expects the next round to open in February 2027.



Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Wetlands for Wildlife grants pay for on-the-ground wetland and riparian restoration, enhancement and creation projects that improve duck abundance and public waterfowl hunting or help declining and at-risk species. Private landowners cannot apply directly: a local government, Tribe, nonprofit habitat conservation organization, agency or private company applies and manages the grant on your land, often arranged through your local wetland Focus Area Committee. Rounds open each winter; CPW expects the next round to open in February 2027.

- Eligible: local governments, other state and federal land management agencies, tribes, non-profit habitat conservation organizations, and private companies.
- Ineligible: private landowners (directed to local Focus Area Committees, USFWS private lands biologists or Farm Bill programs) and previous recipients with a project behind schedule.
- Projects must improve duck distribution/abundance and public waterfowl hunting, or the status of declining or at-risk species.

Eligible costs include restoration labor, materials, equipment rental, planning and engineering, monitoring and beaver-related habitat manipulations. Ineligible: fee title or easement acquisition, water rights, mitigation-bank wetlands, most equipment purchases, routine O&M. Quarterly progress reports required. Improvements should last at least 10 years.

Published amounts: Up to approximately $1.121 million available. There is no minimum or maximum grant award; small requests (<$25,000) are discouraged. Indirect costs should not exceed 10% of the request.

List of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Funding Opportunities