2024 Outfitter of the Year: The Gates Family
The Colorado Outfitters Association (COA) is proud to recognize Dan, Karen, Ethan, and Kara Gates as our 2024 Outfitter of the Year. This award is a unique and meaningful honor, recognizing a family of non-outfitters whose unwavering dedication, leadership, and behind-the-scenes work have played a critical role in protecting Colorado’s outdoor heritage and strengthening the outfitting profession.
Without the strategy, commitment, and teamwork of individuals like the Gates family, our profession would be farther from success and closer to ruin. COA members deeply appreciate their sacrifices, their steadfast resolve, and the humor they have shared along the way.
A Family Rooted in the Sporting Life
Dan Gates, his wife Karen, and their son Ethan are lifelong sportsmen who have dedicated their lives to conservation, wildlife stewardship, and outdoor advocacy. Since 1987, the family has operated a successful wildlife and pest control business while hunting and fishing across Colorado and around the world.
Deeply engaged in sportsman and conservation issues, the Gates family has committed themselves to a life of service, championing science-based wildlife management and supporting the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Their passion extends beyond recreation, reflecting a long-standing commitment to sustaining wildlife and natural resources for future generations.
Leadership in Conservation & Policy
Dan Gates currently serves as Chair of the sportsman-funded Colorado Wildlife Council and holds the position of Vice-Chair of the Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project, while also serving as President of the Colorado Trapper & Predator Hunters Association.
In 2016, Dan and his colleagues founded Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management (CRWM) after recognizing the need for legitimate representation of hunters, trappers, and anglers. The Gates family stepped up collectively, carrying the weight at home and in the field to ensure the organization’s success.
Through these combined efforts, Dan has served as Citizen Chair of the Legislative Sportsman’s Caucus, working closely with the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation to advance CRWM’s mission:
“To enhance, promote, and defend the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and responsible wildlife management.”
Commitment That Benefits All Coloradans
Dan, Karen, and Ethan’s dedication to the outdoors is a true reflection of sportsmen’s values surrounding conservation and stewardship. With the addition of daughter-in-law Kara, the Gates family continues to live and work in a way that benefits not only sportsmen and women, but also the broader public who cherish Colorado’s natural resources.
Their impact reaches far beyond policy rooms and committee meetings, strengthening wildlife conservation, protecting access to outdoor opportunities, and ensuring ethical, responsible management for generations to come.
Honoring an Extraordinary Contribution
The Outfitter of the Year Award represents the very best of what COA stands for, leadership, integrity, stewardship, and service. While the Gates family may not be outfitters by trade, their contribution to Colorado’s outfitting community and conservation landscape is profound.
We are honored to call Dan, Karen, Ethan, and Kara Gates our friends and partners as we continue “working together to protect, maintain, and enhance opportunities to hunt, fish, and enjoy the Colorado outdoors.”
With gratitude and respect, we proudly recognize the Gates Family as the 2024 Outfitter of the Year.
