There’s a lot of fanfare around grant awards, but what happens after the ceremonial checks are presented and the reporters have published their articles? Our partners get down to business.
For over 30 years, GOCO has improved Colorado’s great outdoors with the help of Colorado Lottery proceeds. To date, we’ve invested more than $1.4 billion in 5,800 projects to improve the lives of Coloradans across the state.
After projects are awarded funding, grant recipients have about two years to make their projects happen.
Recently, eleven projects wrapped up, representing $1,991,950, in GOCO investments in local communities across the state. Scroll to see if one’s near you:
East Gateway River Park Project
$420,000 grant to Town of Pagosa Springs
The Town of Pagosa Springs used a Community Impact grant to acquire a 4.3-acre property along the San Juan River. The effort was part of the East Gateway River Park Project aimed at expanding public river access and recreational amenities while protecting the area’s natural beauty. Once completed, the new park will offer residents and visitors river access, additional parking, restrooms, ADA-accessible river entry, and an extended riverwalk trail.
Read the local press release
Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Whitewater Park
$350,000 grant to Pitkin County
With a Local Park and Outdoor Recreation grant, Pitkin County and the Town of Basalt improved public access to the Healthy Rivers Whitewater Park (pictured above). Before the project, heavy vegetation, changing water levels, and newly added whitewater waves made park access difficult and dangerous. Partners added an emergency access path, an elevated boardwalk, and other designated connecting walkways and buffer zones. While enhancing public access and safety, efforts protected natural areas and created opportunities for wildlife and river viewing.
Learn more about the Healthy Rivers Whitewater Park
Post-Fire Park and Playground Rebuild
$660,000 grant to Town of Superior
A Community Impact grant helped the Town of Superior rebuild three community parks impacted by the 2021 Marshall Fire: Children’s Park, Big Sagamore Park, and Little Sagamore Park. The parks serve the Sagamore and Original Town neighborhoods, where over 350 homes were destroyed. Beyond just rebuilding, the town upgraded the park with new accessible playgrounds and equipment, green spaces and seating areas, improved safety surfacing, and drought-tolerant, fire-resistant landscaping.
Read more about the project
Supporting the Outdoors through Crew-based Programming
$200,000 grant to Southwest Conservation Corps
Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) used a Planning and Capacity grant to hire two seasonal field supervisors— one in the Four Corners Region and one in Los Valles. Funding also supported staff training, recruitment efforts, and career pathways and leadership opportunities in outdoor stewardship. This project was built on previous efforts and identified the need for training, support, and resources to increase program participation.
Learn more about SCC
The following projects are part of Keep it Colorado’s Transaction Cost Assistance Program that regrants GOCO funds to help cover transaction costs associated with conservation easements. The program gives landowners the financial support they need to act on urgent conservation opportunities and protect their land more quickly.
DeGuelle
$75,000 grant to Colorado Open Lands through Keep It Colorado
Colorado Open Lands amended and restated (updated) an existing conservation easement near Paonia to include an additional 297 acres. This expanded the existing easement to 377 acres of protected pinyon-juniper woodlands, evergreen forest, mountain shrubland, and one mile of stream and river corridors. The property is located near 54 other conservation easements that collectively protect over 14,000 acres. It provides a critical buffer and refuge for wildlife in a region under pressure from natural resource extraction, and builds upon decades of conservation momentum. The K’úutìim’é (Cochiti) landowner offers access to Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) people with ancestral connection to these lands for the traditional harvest of native plants in an undisturbed area.
Learn more about the project
Hackley
$50,000 to Montezuma Land Conservancy through Keep It Colorado
Montezuma Land Conservancy permanently protected a historic 720-acre ranch in the Mancos River watershed. The property holds high-value and healthy water rights, soils, meadows, and ponderosa pine forests, as well as 17 acres of wetlands and river habitat. About half of the property is located within San Juan National Forest, creating a natural buffer and extending migratory pathways for wildlife. Its largely forested landscape helps increase snow accumulation and spring water runoff, benefiting the local water supply.
Learn more about the project
Hawk Ranch
$43,150 grant to Colorado West Land Trust through Keep It Colorado
Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT) conserved the 270-acre Hawk Ranch in the Crawford Valley. The working ranch holds senior water rights and serves as winter habitat for wildlife, including an elk migration corridor. It features half a mile of Cottonwood Creek, which supports a river corridor within a mapped golden and bald eagle breeding area. The ranch is one of more than 25 working ranches in the valley protected by CWLT. The area is surrounded by iconic landscapes with the West Elk Wilderness to the east, Black Canyon National Park to the south, and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area to the west. The property also borders Needle Rock, a unique geological feature designated by the Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
Learn more about the project
JRA Farm
$75,000 grant to Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust through Keep It Colorado
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RIGHT) permanently protected the traditional 80-acre JRA Farm. The property features 40 acres of farmland, 30 acres of flooded hay meadows, and 13 acres of river areas, including approximately half a mile of riverside habitat. Two branches of the Rio San Antonio run through the farm, creating prime habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher with an exclusion fence in place to protect sensitive areas. This project built upon previous efforts by RIGHT to support historically underserved Hispano landowners in achieving their conservation goals.
Learn more about RIGHT
Nine Mile Ranch
$40,000 grant to Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust through Keep It Colorado
Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) permanently protected 2,800 acres of ranchland and 3.9 miles of stream between Meeker and White River National Forest. The property is located near the 6,000-acre Jensen State Wildlife Area and other Bureau of Land Management lands. Water rights on the ranch are used to irrigate over 65 acres of hay meadows while supporting the health of the Upper White River Watershed and the aquatic species along Curtis Creek. Its high-quality habitat and connection to other undeveloped landscapes provide critical habitat for at-risk species, including the sagebrush vole, burrowing owl, dusky grouse, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, and greater sandhill crane.
Learn more about the project
North Bend Ranch
$53,800 grant to Colorado West Land Trust through Keep It Colorado
Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT) protected a 115-acre ranch in the Paradox Valley of western Montrose County. The property includes about one-third of the valley’s remaining cottonwood forest along the Dolores River, native sacaton grasslands, and wetlands tied to the river’s floodplain, a naturally occurring area prone to seasonal flooding. The ranch and surrounding area provide habitat for elk, migrating sandhill cranes, spotted bats, mule deer, and other wildlife. It also includes nearly half a mile of the Dolores River, which supports the “Native Three” warmwater fish species, recreational boating, and scenic views from Highway 90.
Learn more about CWLT
Tim Williams Ranch
$25,000 to Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust through Keep It Colorado
Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) permanently protected the 2,136-acre Tim Williams Ranch. The property features endangered shortgrass prairie habitat that provides a multitude of ecosystem services benefiting the people of Colorado and the local agricultural economy, including soil carbon storage, diverse wildlife habitat, and hardy grasses for grazing. Colorado State University’s Colorado Natural Heritage Program identified the ranch as an important ecological system. It provides habitat for at-risk species such as the Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat, little brown myotis, burrowing owl, and golden eagle. Its proximity to other conserved lands creates a continuous landscape for wildlife.
Learn more about the project