A whopping $9 million in GOCO projects finished in April, with a majority coming from our partners at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). GOCO invests $30 million every year in programs at CPW. Keep in mind that just because they’ve “closed” in April doesn’t mean CPW isn’t still hard at work maintaining state parks and trails, helping wildlife, and making your experience in the outdoors great.

We also had projects wrap up for our conservation excellence program, which helps improve best practices and strategically plan for the future of land conservation. Keep scrolling for this jam-packed edition of Where Do You GOCO:

COMaP

CSU’s Colorado Natural Heritage Program and Geospatial Centroid program put a $43,500 GOCO grant toward upgrading and updating the Colorado Ownership, Management and Protection Map (COMaP) to make it more useful and easier to use.

COMaP is a comprehensive map of all the conserved land in Colorado, providing land trusts and other groups with information that helps them plan strategic efforts in conservation, wildland fire fuel mitigation, wildlife habitat protection, utility and energy development, and more.

Abandoned Conservation Easements Study

Colorado Open Lands (COL) and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) examined how to handle abandoned easements with the help of a $41,200 GOCO grant. Conservation easements are legal documents that permanently protect land from development. They can be abandoned if the holder of the easement (such as a land trust or other conservation organization) no longer exists or fails to meet its obligations, such as monitoring the property regularly.

The study collected statistics on easement holders in Colorado to shed light on the potential for abandonment. It also developed a comprehensive repair process to identify and resolve abandoned easements and addressed how easements can be assigned to other holders.

Advancing Easement Stewardship

CCALT and COL also finished up a project to research and create guidance for landowners and land trusts for managing wildfire damage to conserved land, addressing possible oil and gas development, and financing the costs of taking care of the land that has been conserved. The study invested $32,500 from GOCO.

The first report reviewed standards in conservation easement language and how they can be written to allow for response to natural disasters. The second report provides options for easement holders (like a land trust) when they are approached by landowners about oil and gas development. The third report makes recommendations on planning for the costs of monitoring, stewarding, and enforcing conservation easements.

Arkansas River Land Acquisition

CPW not only acquires land for wildlife habitat conservation, but also to expand and create buffers around state parks and recreation areas. At Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, two GOCO grants helped conserve approximately 42 acres in Chaffee County. With the increased space, CPW was able to relocate a boat ramp to improve access and long-term sustainability. The land acquisition also added a mile and a half of river access for anglers. The Arkansas River is one of the most popular rivers, not just in Colorado, but in country.

At-Risk Aquatic Species Propagation

Aquatic species what? CPW helps keep native fish and toad species healthy in the wild with a little help in captivity. More than $320,000 in GOCO funding helps collect eggs for research, raise fish and toad species, and re-stock waters with the adults. This program works to bring back fish populations that have declined due to issues like pollution, habitat degradation, and development. The program also maintains existing levels of fish for Colorado’s world-class fisheries that keep our waterways well stocked for anglers.

CPW Environmental Education, Volunteer, and Youth Programs

More than $1.8 million from GOCO goes toward internships and volunteer programs at state parks and wildlife areas, CPW’s Schools and Outdoor Learning Environments curriculum, Colorado Youth Corps Association work, Junior Ranger activities, family nature activities, and information for park visitors like trail brochures, maps, signs, and other information.

GOCO also directly funds youth corps projects, and the last two years of School Play Initiative grants have partnered 11 schools with SOLE.

CPW Operations

GOCO funds a number of critical on-going programs for CPW. Programs that closed in the past month include: research on native Colorado fish; ensuring Colorado’s forests stay healthy; educating Coloradoans and visitors about wildfires, forest insects, and invasive weed species; watchable wildlife programs; and day-to-day operations at several state parks.

Emerald Mountain Trails Signage

What good is a trail if you don’t know where to go? CPW invested $28,000 of GOCO funding into directional signage for trails on Emerald Mountain in Steamboat Springs. The signs not only provide guidance of where to go, but also integrate into the entire city trail system.

Geyser Spring Trail Bridge

Hikers on Geyser Spring Trail in southwestern Colorado will now be able to safely cross the West Delores River thanks to CPW’s trail project funded by nearly $80,000 from GOCO. The project was particularly important for families with small children and seniors that struggled to cross the rocky riverbed that was once their only option.

GIS Habitat Information

CPW tracks all of its wildlife habitat protection efforts with the help of GOCO funding for GIS (mapping) tools. GIS data allows CPW to track where they’ve conserved land, where other organizations or public agencies have conserved lands, where wildlife migration routes are, and other information that helps them decide where critical wildlife habitat protection needs to happen.

Leadville-to-Salida Public Access Trail Master Plan

This project was recently in the news, and GOCO funding through CPW has helped this project get started. The project ultimately aims to build a 64-mile trail on or adjacent to the historic Leadville State Road and Colorado Midland Railroad.

Paonia River Park Trails Project

Paonia River Park in western Colorado has already benefitted from more than $100,000 in competitive grants from GOCO, and CPW invested another $42,000 of GOCO funding to plan a network of trails across 14 acres of the park. The project also plans for wildlife viewing areas, water access for kayakers, and educational areas and signs.

State Park Road Improvements

It will be smooth sailing (well, driving) at three state parks thanks to GOCO grants totaling $2.7 million. Projects at Lake Pueblo, Chatfield, and Trinidad Lake state parks improved roads and parking lots that were at least 30 years old and becoming dangerous to drive on.

These projects make sure park visitors are safe whenever they visit one of Colorado’s state parks, whether in a car or on a bike. At Chatfield, bike lanes were added to give cyclists safe access, Lake Pueblo’s roads are now pothole-free, and Trinidad will have safe roads even in bad weather, particularly in case of an emergency.

Staunton State Park Davis Dams Renovation

The three Davis Dams at Staunton State Park outside of Conifer were built in the 1930s, and unsurprisingly were in dire need of some updates.

If CPW hadn’t invested nearly $2 million in GOCO funding in the project, the dams would have failed. CPW would have had to turn the land surrounding the dams back into a stream, taking away recreation opportunities for state park visitors and potentially threatening the safety of residents living downstream.

Trinidad Master Trail and Greenway Plan

In southeastern Colorado, Trinidad used $42,000 in GOCO funding from CPW to determine the best way to build trails, parks, and conserve open spaces. Trinidad Lake State Park is an important feature of the city – both CPW and Trinidad hope to find ways to better connect residents and visitors to this spectacular state park. This grant helped the city consider how to best meet community needs while responsibly caring for wildlife, plants, rivers, and scenic vistas.

Watchable Wildlife

State parks and trails are only half the picture of CPW’s work to make our state a better place to play, and GOCO funding helps the agency’s wildlife work as well.

In the last year, GOCO has invested more than $166,000 in watchable wildlife across the state. CPW puts that funding to work at wildlife festivals, viewing areas, and other opportunities for people to learn more about wildlife like the Colorado Birding Trail.

Map by GOCO GIS Intern Ian Baca; Fish count photo by Mike Delliveneri; Watchable wildlife photo by Wayne D Lewis.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a Constitutional Amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 4,700 projects in urban and rural areas in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support.