CPW Technician IV - Heavy Equipment Operator (SW Region, CO

Department Information

The primary duties of this position are located within 30 miles of the state border; therefore, this position is exempt from the residency requirements. Applications will be considered from residents and non-residents of Colorado.

This position can be housed anywhere in the SW region, including Durango, Monte Vista, and Montrose.

Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.

We invite you to explore our website at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

• Medical and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax and Roth 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Our Mission is to perpetuate the wildlife resources of the state, to provide a quality state parks system, and to provide enjoyable and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that educate and inspire current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado's natural resources.

The SW Region work unit is a major, geographical based organizational unit of the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW), essentially the SW quadrant of Colorado. The SW Region is responsible for administering and managing state parks, wildlife administrative areas, and all of the ancillary operations, programs, projects, and staff resources, fiscal resources and miscellaneous property resources relating to state parks and wildlife activities in the Region including the Regional Heavy Equipment Operator position.

This position can be housed anywhere in the SW region, including Durango, Monte Vista, and Montrose.

This position exists to create, preserve, enhance and develop lands owned or managed by CPW using heavy equipment that is beyond the expertise and capabilities of other division employees and equipment. The position will use backhoes, excavators, draglines, frontend loaders, dozers (D-6 or comparable), road graders and other heavy equipment to create roads, parking lots, irrigation structures and other facilities for the public and CPW use;

in addition the position will perform habitat enhancements by dredging ponds, developing springs, creating wetlands and aquatic habitat enhancements in streams and lakes for fish and wildlife throughout the Region. Equipment will need to be transported throughout the Regions using dump trucks, semis, trailers, and pickups to move equipment.

Operates specialized, high value equipment such as track hoe, dragline, dozer, front end loader, backhoe, dump truck, and road grader, miscellaneous power tools, and equipment such as generators on project work sites. Selects and operates the appropriate piece of heavy equipment to complete each project based on the scope of work for each project and goals of project managers. The position will be required to understand and comply with permitting requirements for each type of project.

This will include permits issued by local, state, and federal agencies and governments. The position will work in all areas of the assigned region to…