CPW unveils new facility

Colorado Parks and Wildlife finally has a new home in Gunnison.

Standing adjacent to the former headquarters building at 200 S. Spruce St., the new facility is a major upgrade from the previous structure. In fact, for the past several decades, the CPW headquarters in Gunnison was housed in, well, a house.

“We just outgrew that space,” said Assistant Area Wildlife Manager Nick Gallowich

Though the project was completed in November of 2024, CPW chose to formally move all employees into the new space in December 2024 once last year’s hunting season had officially come to a close. The official grand opening to the public and ribbon cutting ceremony with the Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce took place last week on Aug 26.

The multimillion dollar renovation was funded primarily through license dollars from hunters and anglers, grants and excise tax on firearms, ammunition and hunting equipment. It is a sleek, state of the art, green, energy-efficient facility that features a wide information desk, numerous educational displays, plentiful office spaces a large conference room and a utilitarian wildlife bay.

The new facility is large enough to house the majority of the staff from the Gunnison basin and surrounding areas, as well as accommodate meetings with crucial collaborators and partner agencies to CPW such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Managements, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and safely conduct routine wildlife assessments and law enforcement protocols.

Not only has the new headquarters building increased the space that CPW staff has to work with, Gallowich also believes that it will allow the team to work with increased efficiency, better communication, and more camaraderie.

“I think it’s been really good for everybody because it’s brought us all together,” said Gallowich. “We’re all in one building now and so it creates better opportunities for collaboration and better communication throughout the different areas, even if some people are supervised in different parts of the state. It allows us to spend more time and get better information from each other.”

The building’s public uses include providing customer service, information and education about wildlife, issuing hunting and fishing licenses, OHV and boat registrations and even offering passes for State parks as far away as the North Fork Valley. Hunter education classes will also be available on-site in the new conference room.

“Any questions related to wildlife we can field out of our office,” said Gallowich. “Throughout the building we have people who specialize in a variety of things, whether it’s fisheries, big game, or sage grouse. On the parks side we can sell park passes. We don’t just cover Gunnison, but also the North Fork Valley –– which is Paonia, Hotchkiss and Cedaridge –– out of this office too. Crawford State Park and Paonia State Park are over there, so people can come and get passes for those state parks here.”

The wildlife bay at the CPW was specially designed for effective wildlife assessment. It is an indoor/outdoor garage space where sportsmen can bring big game kills to be assessed according to the state’s rules and regulations. It is also a space that allows CPW experts to examine wildlife for potential issues with disease, as well as investigate wildlife-related law enforcement cases.

“If somebody illegally shoots an animal, we bring it here and gather more evidence. Many times we end up with wildlife that doesn’t go back to the hunter, so then we confiscate that, put it in the [wildlife bay’s] cooler and then we donate it out to needy families in the community,” Gallowich said.

The public is encouraged to stop by the new CPW headquarters with any questions they may have about wildlife or parks-related issues.

“We have folks here who have been here and been doing the job for a very long time who are very knowledgeable, who know the area and how to handle situations with all of the wildlife so they’re a great resource,” said Gallowich.

(Gia Wright can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or gia@gunnisontimes.com.)