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Funding
Funding

​​​​​​​​​​​How is Colorado Parks and Wildlife Funded?

Although CPW became a merged agency in 2011, state statute and federal regulations require that the budgets for parks and wildlife remain separate.​ Annual revenue and expenditures for each budget are provided in the charts below. 

Additional detail regarding CPW’s sources and uses of funds can be found in the Sources & Use of Funds fact sheet.

CPW employs a user-pays model of funding in which hunting and fishing licenses, federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, motorized recreation vehicle registrations, and park-generated pass revenue comprise the majority of CPW’s proceeds.

Note: CPW's expenditures do not tie directly to its revenues in a given year.​


Funding Sources

All Parks and Wildlife Revenue

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Parks and Wildlife Revenue: $341 Million*



Federal Grants 14%

General Fund 3%

GOCO 11%

Licenses & Passes 53%

Lottery 8%

Other Revenue & Donations 5%

Registrations 3%

Severance Tax 2%

State & Local Grants 1%



Colorado Parks Revenue

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Parks Revenue: $130 Million


Federal Grants 11%

General Fund 7%

GOCO 15%

Licenses & Passes 34%

Lottery 16%

Other Revenues & Donations 7%

Registrations 7%

Severance Tax 2%

State & Local Grants 1%



Colorado Wildlife Revenue

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Wildlife Revenue: $198 Million


Federal Grants 15%

GOCO 9%

Licenses & Passes 69%

Lottery 2%

Other Revenue & Donations 4%

State & Local Grants 1%


*Less than 1% wildlife revenue comes from the General Fund.

*4% of Colorado Parks and Wildlife revenues are shared revenue sources.





Where the Money Goes

All Parks and Wildlife Expenditures

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Parks and Wildlife Expenditures: $276 Million*


Customer Service 4%

Environment &
Wildlife Education 2%

Fishing Recreation 8%

Habitat Management 19%

Hunting Recreation 7%

Law Enforcement 4%

Licensing, Registrations,
Policy & Regulations 4%

Organizational Support 29%

Park Recreation 6%

Payments to Other Agencies 6%

Public Information 3%

Species Conservation 4%

Trails Recreation 4%



Colorado Parks Expenditures

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Parks Expenditures: $107 Million


Customer Service 3%

Environment &
Wildlife Education 2%

Habitat Management 17%

Law Enforcement 5%

Licensing, Registrations,
Policy & Regulations 1%

Organizational Support 36%

Park Recreation 16%

Payments to Other Agencies 6%

Public Information 3%

Trails Recreation 11%



Colorado Wildlife Expenditures

Fiscal Year 2021-22 Total Wildlife Expenditures: $161 Million


Customer Service 5%

Environment &
Wildlife Education 2%

Fishing Recreation 9%

Habitat Management 21%

Hunting Recreation 12%

Law Enforcement 4%

Licensing, Registrations,
Policy & Regulations 7%

Organizational Support 26%

Payments to Other Agencies 6%

Public Information 2%

Species Conservation 6%



*3% of Colorado Parks and Wildlife expenditures are for shared purposes.


How Y​o​​u Can Help​​

  • Spread the word! Make sure that your friends and neighbors realize how valuable license fees, parks fees and registrations are to CPW's operations. 
  • Step outside your comfort zone! Try a new CPW activity that you haven't tried before.
  • Continue to purchase your CPW products every year, and keep participating in the outdoor activities you love.  
  • Donate​ or volunteer.

​​Thank you for moving our programs forward with your fees and participation.​​