Colorado Parks and Wildlife has named Travis Black as the agency’s Northwest regional manager.

CPW’s Northwest Region covers Routt, Moffat, Grand, Jackson, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Pitkin and Mesa counties with agency offices in Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Hot Sulphur Springs, Meeker and Steamboat Springs.

Black joined the former Colorado Division of Wildlife full-time in 1999 as a district wildlife manager in the Kit Carson district.

In 2004, he was promoted to wildlife manager for Area 12 based in Lamar, where he served for 15 years.

During his tenure, Black played a key role in a federal-state task force formed to manage invasive feral swine, according to CPW. The agency credits his work with Colorado becoming the first state to eradicate feral swine.

In 2019, Black was promoted to deputy regional manager of CPW’s Southeast Region in Colorado Springs, and he oversaw the region’s water, energy, education, volunteer and communications team.

“This is an enormous honor and an exciting challenge,” Black said in a statement. “The Northwest Region with its rural, wide-open spaces feels like my home in Lamar and back in Texas. And it presents fascinating wildlife management opportunities.

“I’m thrilled to be leading the excellent CPW team of wildlife officers, biologists and park rangers in the Northwest Region to tackle these issues.”

Black is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served four years of active duty before returning to Texas, where he worked on a farm and ranch for six years.

Based in Grand Junction, Black began his new role in December.