Colorado Outdoors - the Podcast for Colorado Parks and Wildlife – Details, episodes & analysis

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently concluded a 10-year monitoring of lynx in the Southwest Region of CPW. In this episode, learn more about how CPW monitors the elusive population of wildcats.

Wildlife Research Scientist Jake Ivan joins the show to talk about key findings from the 10 years of monitoring including issues related to habitat and coexistence with other wildlife species. Jake also dives into the origins of the lynx reintroduction in Colorado and what future monitoring of the species will look like.

Earlier this year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife released a new coffee table book titled “At Home in Nature: A History of Colorado’s State Parks.” It’s truly a must-have for those interested in our state’s natural and cultural heritage.

Learn how this book went from a pre-COVID idea to a finished product in 2024 that is now available for sale at state park visitor centers and on cpwshop.com. Priced at $34.95, the book has been so popular in its first few months that it is already heading for a second printing.

In this episode, hear from two women key in the formation of this book. Mary Taylor Young, a famed Colorado nature writer, was the primary editor and organizer of the book while contributing her own writing. The show is also joined by Margaret Taylor, CPW’s Capital Development Manager, who also contributed writing and tons of work to get the book from concept to finished product.

Show host John Livingston is also joined on this episode by co-host Kara Van Hoose. Give this episode a listen to get all the behind the scenes stories and discover a few of the hidden gems you won’t find in the book’s index.

Every year, bears attracted to human food sources damage property, vehicles and even homes. Bears don’t know they’re doing anything wrong. They’re just following their super-sensitive noses to the most calories they can find. Bears that find food around homes, campgrounds and communities often lose their natural wariness of people.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is charged with protecting and preserving the state’s wildlife. Every time we must euthanize a bear, it’s not just the bear that loses. We all lose a little piece of the wildness that makes Colorado so special.

In today’s episode, we’re talking with Area Wildlife Managers from around the state about being Bear Aware. We also learn how local communities play a huge role in limiting human-bear conflict and how CPW grant opportunities can help extend the work being done in those communities. Gain a newfound appreciation for these charismatic creatures and learn how you can help keep Colorado’s wildlife wild.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2023, Colorado residents can get a $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass during their annual vehicle registration through the Division of Motor Vehicles.

As Coloradans, we treasure our outdoor lifestyle and state’s beauty. This new state park pass gives all Coloradans an easy way to invest in Colorado’s outdoors, wildlife and local communities in a meaningful way. Your contribution shows you care about Colorado and want to keep our landscapes healthy for current and future generations. Money raised will be used to protect wildlife habitats, search and rescue programs, avalanche safety, local outdoor community projects and more. 

NoCo PLACES 2050 is a broader effort by eight agencies collaborating on ways to address the challenges of high visitation and a growing population in northern Colorado’s foothills and mountains. This collaboration is committed to sustainable solutions, equitable actions, and beneficial land management practices for the long-term conservation of public lands in Colorado and the quality of the visitor experience. Learn about NoCo PLACES 2050.

No matter the season, Highline Lake State Park is a diverse and welcome retreat. Park Manager Alan Martinez joins us on this podcast to discuss the state park thta is an oasis in the desert. Connected to miles of trails and close to communities, the park makes an ideal base camp for exploring the Grand Junction area. Whether passing through on mountain bikes, or as an end destination, the park welcomes campers, anglers, families and groups.

Rattlesnakes have a lot of misconceptions or folklore surrounding them because they are often perceived as mysterious and are generally misunderstood. Colorado Parks and Wildlife species conservation coordinator Tina Jackson has spent the last 20 years learning about snakes, and she shared her knowledge of rattlesnakes in this Colorado Outdoors podcast.

Some terms naturally go together like "Colorado Parks and Wildlife" and "world-class fishing."

Few would ever add to that list the term “Superfund sites.”

That's because Colorado Parks and Wildlife's 42 parks are recreation meccas. Its 350 wildlife areas boast some of the finest wildlife and aquatic habitat in the state. And even in the United States.

But they weren’t always so pristine. In fact, CPW's aquatic biologists and research scientists have played a key role in transforming rivers and wetlands dangerously polluted by decades of mining and milling into prime fish habitat by restoring the waterways to their historic unspoiled conditions.

They are erasing the dark legacy of gold mining and restoring gold medal fisheries that are known by anglers worldwide and home to threatened or endangered species.

And here to talk about the work that took place along the Upper Arkansas River is Eric Richer, Aquatic Research Scientist and Paul Foutz, Senior Aquatic Biologist for CPW’s Southeast Region.

Winter range is what provides those limited resources that wild animals such as deer, elk, pronghorn and sage grouse rely on to survive the harsh winter months. Ultimately it is the most limited habitat, so these animals are moving to winter range as part of their migration process because they are not able to survive in those higher elevations where the snow loads are deep and there is nothing for them to eat. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is placing a big focus on conserving Colorado’s Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors. We discuss just that with Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington in this Colorado Outdoors podcast episode.

Eleven Mile State Park is an expansive high-altitude grassland region of central Colorado. It is a prime location for ice fishing and anglers and writers consistently tout Eleven Mile’s large reservoir for its outstanding fishing. In this podcast episode we learn about its history, unique species and fishery management outlook for one of the great angling opportunities in the state of Colorado. We'll talk with Bryan Johnson, the hatchery manager for CPW's Mt. Shavano Hatchery along with Tyler Swarr, the aquatic biologist who oversee's management of the fishery. Then we'll close with CPW Senior Aquatic Biologist Jeff Spohn, who provides us with some of the history on Eleven Mile and how it developed over the previous decades.