Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Gunnison

07/28/2026

Earlier this summer, we introduced you to K-9 officer Pike and his handler, Mark Richman, who help cover our area.

We are thrilled to share that Pike's donated body armor has arrived, making sure he is properly protected in the field. Look at that smile!

Here's more information:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s K9 Pike has received donation of body armor

GUNNISON, Colo. – K9 Pike has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Pike’s vest was sponsored by Tiffany Crump of Aurora, CO and embroidered with the sentiment “In honor of Roam and Milo.”

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 6,603 vests valued at $6.9 million to K9s in all 50 states, made possible by both private and corporate donations.

The program is open to U.S. dogs at least 20 months old and actively employed and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., accepts tax-deductible contributions in any amount, while a single donation of $1,050 will sponsor one vest. Each vest has a value of $1800.00, weighs an average of 4-5 lbs., and comes with a five-year warranty. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail your contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

07/10/2026

FISHING UPDATE: We have enacted voluntary afternoon fishing closures on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, Cochetopa Creek and Tomichi Creek.

We posted earlier this summer about low flows and warm water temperatures, so this shouldn't come as a surprise.

Help be part of the solution by choosing not to fish these waters between noon and midnight so that we don't need to move toward mandatory closures.

We appreciate our great angling community, many of you who have already been making this choice all summer. Thank you for caring for our incredible resources.

More info at the link below.

Home News Releases CPW enacts voluntary fishing closures on three Gunnison-area streams CPW enacts voluntary fishing closures on three Gunnison-area streams Southwest Region Share: John Livingston Southwest Region Public Information Officer 970-759-9590 / [email protected] CPW enac...

07/09/2026

If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please click on the link below to sign up:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.backcountryhunters.org_events_eventid_5109_e_sportsmen-2Dand-2Dwomans-2Dwet-2Dmeadow-2Drestoration-2Dproject-2Dgunnison-2Dco-2D18-2Djul-2D2026&d=DwMFaQ&c=sdnEM9SRGFuMt5z5w3AhsPNahmNicq64TgF1JwNR0cs&r=oZrz7v2NJFQNwkY3C1HV2lWZiBMBiZJXDpYA1ziJdPQ&m=gSJqrtLDu1cbGcehkVQgmFBXaAYCNC2of2sKeLKiB3kWkV3kG-85lAoH5f7nTU28&s=cBYBH_GjrWkSpKrGtcq2Su-e7JuJZqgRIMHKoqBjzb8&e=

06/15/2026

🎣 Attention anglers. Please take a minute to read this information and share it with your fishing pals.

With warm and dry conditions following the historically low snowpack last winter, we've been closely monitoring stream temperatures. We've put together a few graphs showing recent water temperatures on the Gunnison, Lake Fork, Tomichi, and Cochetopa Creek since May 1. We included a red line showing 71 degrees, the temperature at which we start considering voluntary closures on heavily used rivers.

The Gunnison and the Lake Fork are still well below this threshold, but we are seeing temperatures in the low 70's on warm days in lower Tomichi and Cochetopa Creeks.

We want the public to be prepared in the event we must enact voluntary fishing closures this summer. A great piece of equipment for anglers to carry is a thermometer. When temps get above 70 degrees, fish become less active and more difficult to catch. But when they are caught, cold-water species are less likely to recover after being caught and released. If you are chasing trout and the temps are 70 degrees or higher, please consider another location.

We have an active document posted to our website detailing fishing closures around the state, and this document will be updated all summer. You can find it at the link here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1seEJEG8nOuf25NXFh1meXMAafLcHlobvkXatuzhaE_8/edit?usp=sharing

It can also be easily found on the fishing tab of our website at https://cpw.state.co.us/fishing.

Anglers can be part of the solution in multiple ways:

• Choose to fish only in the early morning hours or late evening hours and do not pressure fish during the warmest times of day.
• Head to a different location if the water temperature is 70 degrees or higher and look toward higher elevations.
• Land fish quickly and keep fish submerged when removing the hook.
• Release fish quickly and avoid taking photos.

Thanks for reading and sharing this message. We are lucky to have many incredible fishing spots in Colorado. Let's all do our part to maintain them.

05/29/2026

Over the last year, CPW has worked to expand its K-9 program, and we will be excited to share more information about two of our new K-9 officers working here on the Western Slope over the coming weeks.

For now, we want to introduce you to K-9 Pike, handled by CPW officer Mark Richman. Pike will help with a wide range of duties here in the Gunnison Basin as well as the districts covered by CPW's Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs area offices.

As we bring Pike on board our team, we want to acknowledge the organizations who help make our K-9 program possible. Thanks to Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., we are able to make sure Pike has the proper protective equipment when he's in the field.

Here's more information:

Colorado Parks & Wildlife K9 Pike to get donation of body armor

GUNNISON, CO - K9 Pike will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Pike’s vest was sponsored by Tiffany Crump of Aurora, CO and will be embroidered with the sentiment “In honor of Roam and Milo”. Delivery is expected within ten weeks.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 6,513 vests valued at $6.9 million to K9s in all 50 states, made possible by both private and corporate donations.

The program is open to U.S. dogs at least 20 months old, actively employed, and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. accepts tax-deductible contributions in any amount, while a single donation of $1,050 will sponsor one vest. Each vest has a value of $1800.00, weighs an average of 4-5 lbs., and comes with a five-year warranty. For more information, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail your contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

05/05/2026

A win for wildlife in Colorado.

Thanks to funds generated by the habitat stamp, we were able to work with partners at Colorado State Forest Service, Great Outdoors Colorado - GOCO, Gunnison County, CO Government and others to secure a third-party conservation easement on the beautiful Higher Ground Ranch property.

A big thanks to everyone involved as well as the landowners for making this happen for the benefit of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.

Home News Releases CPW works with partners to conserve Higher Ground Headwaters Ranch CPW works with partners to conserve Higher Ground Headwaters Ranch Southwest Region Share: John Livingston Southwest Region Public Information Officer 970-759-9590 / [email protected] CPW works wi...

04/20/2026

Our historic drought conditions are setting the stage for human/bear conflict. Fortunately, most conflicts can be mitigated with minimal effort and inconvenience. CPW looks forward to seeing you at these events... please bring your friends and neighbors! Let's rally this year and keep bears wild!