DENVER – Governor Polis and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission announced trail-funding allocations for the 2024 Non-Motorized Trail and Land and Water Conservation Grants at its meeting in Denver on March 13. The Commission unanimously approved the grants.
“Colorado’s hiking trails are a major way we experience and enjoy our great outdoors. Whether it’s hiking through your favorite state park, exploring a new corner of our state, or taking a walk with family and friends, we are now helping more people get outside and have healthy fun by expanding trails and increasing access to them across Colorado,” said Governor Jared Polis.
Non-Motorized Trail Grants
There were a total of 29 Outdoor Recreational Grants funded this year totaling $7,918,274. Statewide Trails Program Manager Fletcher Jacobs highlighted the Colorado Recreational Trails Committee’s wildlife review process which emphasizes the importance of balancing wildlife and habitat needs with recreation needs in Colorado.
“We’re excited to announce these Non-Motorized Trail and Land and Water Conservation Grants that will empower local agencies to create and maintain accessible trails while prioritizing wildlife conservation,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “Our agency is tasked with providing wildlife management and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities. To deliver on this mission, we recognize that recreation and conservation goals can often support each other, and that funding partnerships with other organizations and agencies across the state are critical to accomplish those goals. These projects will connect Coloradans and our visitors to the outdoors with new and improved opportunities to get outside.”
CPW is excited to also launch a new Trail Stewardship pilot program with additional support from Great Outdoors Colorado. This program provides funding specifically to support trail stewardship crews hired by land managers and non-profits who focus on maintenance work throughout Colorado. The State Trails Program will utilize $500,000 in funding from Great Outdoors Colorado to start this pilot based on the “Good Management” concept, which the OHV Program has operated successfully for trail maintenance and resource protection.
“As we continue to see increased use and natural disasters impact our outdoor spaces, we are fortunate to partner with Great Outdoors Colorado to launch a new opportunity to fund stewardship crews who are caring for trails across the state,” said Jacobs. “These increased ‘boots on the ground’ trail crews will help support the Governor’s Wildly Important Goals to balance conservation and recreation by increasing the number of trail crew hours funded by the State Trails Program.”
The Non-Motorized Trails Grant Program is a multi-agency partnership that includes CPW, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Colorado Lottery, and the Federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP). The LWCF Grant Program is the state-managed 50:50 matching grant program for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. Funds are appropriated annually by Congress to the National Park Service and divided among the states.
Grant Stats
Construction
4 grants totaling $751,377
Maintenance
9 grants totaling $919,521
Planning
5 grants totaling $172,956
Support
1 grant totaling $45,000
Land and Water Conservation Fund
5 grants totaling $5,478,998
Some of the highlights from this year’s awarded projects include:
Countywide Trail Maintenance Crew (Trail Stewardship grant)
Headwaters Trails Alliance was awarded a $75,000 grant to fund a five- to six-person trail crew to maintain the 450 miles of trail in Grand County. This project will focus on a spring assessment, clean-up and routine maintenance, eight bridge replacements, turnpike construction, armoring, heavy equipment maintenance, decommissioning and restoring trails and more.
2024 Crested Butte Conservation Corps (Trail Stewardship grant)
The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association was awarded a $158,470 grant. The crews will focus on mitigating impacts to high-use trails with the highest visitor impact. The work will include removing downed trees, identifying and completing small reroutes for better alignments and decommissioning work. Other multi-day projects will include building turnpikes, de-cupping, and trail braid decommissioning.
Trail Conservation Services (Trail Stewardship grant)
A $150,000 grant was awarded to the Colorado Mountain Bike Association to fund a trail stewardship crew of five to seven seasonal workers focused on addressing the backlog of maintenance of natural surface area trails in the South Platte and Clear Creek Ranger Districts along the Front Range. The work will include managing water flow off the trail with grade reversals and drainage features, rock armoring, building climbing turns, and fixing the outslope of the tread.
Trail Maintenance Crew Expansion (Trail Stewardship grant)
Mesa County Public Health was awarded a $78,406 grant to fund a skilled trail maintenance crew that will address resource degradation from the increased recreational activities throughout Mesa County. The project will focus on non-motorized USFS, BLM and other trails within the Grand Valley. Maintenance work will primarily include the following categories: berm work, rock ramps, erosion control, drainage maintenance, new feature construction, signage, re-vegetation, tread work and general rock work.
Trail Maintenance of San Luis Valley Open Spaces (Trail Stewardship grant)
A $137,314 grant was awarded to San Luis Valley Great Outdoors. The Great Outdoors Action Team (GOATs) crew, in collaboration with other agencies, plans to maintain approximately 30 miles of trails on public lands. The work will include clearing felled trees, restoring trail braiding and widening, building boardwalk structures to help with flooding and protecting old-growth cottonwood habitat.
Mount Sanitas Trail Project (Land and Water Conservation Fund Construction Grant)
The City of Boulder’s Open Space Mountain Parks was awarded a $1,125,994 LWCF grant to fund trail improvements and renovations, including designating and improving trails, closing and reclaiming social trails, new open space access, repairing and improving trails at the summit and providing sustainable access for bouldering.
Trail Expansion – Ridgway Area Trails Network (Construction grant)
This $158,470 grant awarded to the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Association will add five miles of natural surface single-track trail. These additions will include options for beginners, adaptive riders, more expert/downhill riders, as well as hikers, runners and equestrians. The new trails will include two internal stacked loops with purpose-built elements like berms and jumps, workaround segments for the most technical trails, a beginner/adaptive rider loop nearer to the trailhead, and an advanced alternative descent trail to increase safety for all users.
Mt. Shavano Reconstruction, Phase 2 (Maintenance grant)
The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative was awarded a $250,000 grant to fund phase two of a three-phase project. This phase will involve building 6,500 linear feet of new trail and closing/restoring 4,100 linear feet of the social trail. The crews will be split into a lower and higher crew building timber check steps, retaining walls and rock steps. The restoration work will include check dams, native plant plugs and seeding.
Oil Well Flats (Maintenance grant)
Fremont Adventure Recreation was awarded a $25,313 grant to fund maintenance of 7.5 miles of the 15 miles of trail located in Oil Well Flats. The trails are natural surface single-track multi-use trails that have not had intensive trail maintenance for over eight years. The work will include adding erosion control structures to steeper sections of trail and reconstructing the trail bench.
Camp Hale Continental Divide National Monument Access (Planning Grant)
Summit County Open Space was awarded $43,575 to fund a planning effort to identify and prioritize site-specific management actions to provide equitable and sustainable access to recreational experiences in the newly designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. The planning process will focus specifically on the southern Ten-mile Range including Quandary Peak and the adjacent drainages of McCullough Gulch, Blue Lakes, and Spruce Creek.
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