Get Involved: Hatcheries

Mt. Shavano Hatchery, one of the largest hatcheries in the state, produces approximately 550,000 catchable (10 inch) trout and 1-2 million sub-catchable fish (2-5 inches) per year. Species such as Rainbow Trout, Snake River Cutthroat Trout, Cutbow Trout, and Kokanee Salmon are raised at the unit. Mt. Shavano Hatchery is located along the shore of the Arkansas River and lies between the Sawatch and Sangre De Cristo Mountain Ranges, approximately 2 miles from downtown Salida and within Chaffee County.

Responsibilities:

• Volunteer hosts live on site and your primary responsibility is to give tours to visitors of Mt. Shavano Hatchery. The number of visitors can total around 1,000 per month June-August.
• Volunteers also show a short video and lead visitors on a tour of the facilities, serve in the visitor's center, and provide grounds and maintenance (such as restocking printed materials and upkeep of visitor's center).

Applicants should enjoy meeting people and be physically fit and healthy.

Site elevation:

7,000 ft.

Looking for 2 hosts for the summer!

Pairs, individuals, families with children, and people who are still working/in their careers (e.g. working remotely) are accepted. Hosts are permitted to have pets at the RV site but not at the hatchery.

Assist hatchery staff with a wide variety of projects.

These projects may include:

• maintenance
• cleaning raceways and tanks
• feeding fish
• stocking fish
• grounds upkeep
• equipment maintenance
• and vegetation removal.

Projects and opportunities vary depending on the time of year.

The Pueblo State Fish Hatchery is the only cold and warm water facility in Colorado. We raise fry, fingerlings, and catchables of rainbow trout. We also raise crappie, bluegills, largemouth bass, brown trout, saugeye, wiper, and walleye. The hatchery was built by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, but Colorado Parks & Wildlife is responsible for its operation and maintenance.

The hatchery grounds sit on 80 acres and consists of the main hatchery building, various maintenance shops, 16 one-acre ponds, 16 half-acre ponds and 32 concrete raceways.

Volunteer host responsibilities include:

• Greet visitors at the hatchery and help give guided tours
• Maintain appearance of visitor center and landscaping around the visitor center

Tours can be scheduled around hosts' availability.

Pueblo State Hatchery is seeking 2 hosts for the 2025 season!

We welcome individuals, couples/pairs, and people still working/in their careers (e.g. working remotely)

Site elevation:

4,800 ft.

Do you enjoy camping/RV'ing, working outdoors, interacting with people, and have good customer service and communication skills? Become a volunteer Hatchery Host at Rifle Falls Hatchery - the largest hatchery in the state!

We are relatively secluded, about 30 minutes from Rifle, at the base of Little Box Canyon in Western Colorado. We have some of the most beautiful campsites and the best hatchery crew around! Rifle Falls Fish hatchery sees 7,000 visitors a year, including school tours, summer camps and vacationers.

Host Responsibilities:

• Visitor Center assistance and answering visitor questions
• Conduct tours of the hatchery, distribute fish food, and encourage visitors to sign the visitor log.
• Grounds maintenance, including mowing, weed whacking, and watering. Tractors and mowers are utilized for grounds work.
• Help keep public restrooms clean.
• Other projects as assigned

We are looking for volunteers with good communication, and any mechanical or landscaping skills.

Elevation: 

7,000 ft (If you have health concerns that elevation may affect, please don't apply.)

Looking for 2 host couples for the 2025 season.

Couples/pairs are invited to apply. Couples with kids and couples still in their career working remotely are also being considered.  Hosts are permitted to have pets.

See what a previous volunteer host had to say and apply today!

"This was the most beautiful campsite we have ever had. This canyon has so much to offer volunteers. The staff were a joy to work with and always willing to share information. The work is enjoyable and rewarding if you enjoy working with people. An added bonus was watching the golden eagles from fledglings through their early flights. Wildlife comes through the hatchery and even to your campsite… My greatest regret is our own inability to travel, because we miss the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery family."

The Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery covers 783 acres, including two miles of the East River and four fishing ponds. The majority of the property is dedicated to wildlife habitat and includes amazing opportunities for wildlife viewing, fishing, and hiking.

Responsibilities:

Our volunteer hosts live on-site and:

• Provide hatchery tours to the public.
• Assist visitors with questions about the hatchery property.
• Maintain hatchery grounds, including but not limited to: mowing, weed whacking, landscaping, planting and watering flowers, picking up trash, maintaining trails and way finding signs, cleaning the visitor center, and some equipment maintenance.
• Hosts may also assist with fish culture work when staff is shorthanded.

Public speaking/good communication skills, landscaping, and equipment maintenance would all be beneficial, but not required.

Elevation:

 8,200 ft

Positions are full for the 2025 host season but feel free to apply to be put on a waitlist!

Couples/pairs are invited to apply. Hosts are permitted to have pets.