Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Jefferson County Open Space, The Conservation Fund and private landowners partner to protect 2,000 acres for wildlife, recreation.
GOCO
Posted inBusiness, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
National Ski Patrol, Colorado Mountain College will get “refresh” from former GOCO leader
Chris Castilian is stepping away after a four-year run as Great Outdoors Colorado’s executive director with his checklist completed. He developed a new strategic vision for Lottery-funded investment in Colorado communities. He helped create the new Fishers Peak State Park. He directed more than $270 million in GOCO grants. And his team spread six regional […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Outdoors
Leadville’s gear-lending “library” is tearing down barriers to build a new generation of outdoor adventurers
LEADVILLE — Vanessa Saldivar was 5 when her father hiked her up the bunny slope at Mt. Hood Skibowl in Oregon. She didn’t have a fancy jacket. She used socks as mittens. Her dad gave her a nudge. And she was hooked. “All these barriers just broke down in that moment,” said the new executive […]
Posted inColoradans, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
U.S. Forest Service ranks protecting Colorado’s Sweetwater Lake high on its list of funding priorities
The U.S. Forest Service last week released its list of top priority land acquisitions for 2021 and the purchase of 488 acres around Garfield County’s Sweetwater Lake made the top 10. After a year-long campaign to acquire and protect the lake and surrounding acreage in the shadow of the Flat Tops Wilderness, the Forest Service […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Colorado now owns Fishers Peak, but funds to build the newest state park are in coronavirus limbo
The deal went down on a picnic table in Broomfield on April 1. “The quietest acquisition of a $25 million property no one ever heard of,” GOCO boss Chris Castilian said. With a notary public standing 6 feet away, a flurry of signatures transferred southern Colorado’s 30 square-mile Fishers Peak to the state of Colorado. […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Outdoors
Ski Cooper’s expanded expert terrain, financial vibrancy reveal model for nonprofit ski area management
TENNESSEE PASS — In the shadow of clashing giants that are transforming the ski resort industry, the publicly owned, non-profit Ski Cooper ski area is thriving. Skier visits have set records for many years in a row, even in seasons when state and national visits decline. Same for total revenue and net income. Income per […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Health, News, Outdoors
Nearly half of Americans didn’t go outside to recreate in 2018. That has the outdoor industry worried.
For the glass-half-full crowd that makes up the outdoor industry, the results of the latest outdoor participation survey are sobering. Outdoor businesses need people to get outside, but almost half of Americans don’t venture outdoors to play. The steady decline in participation threatens not just the bottom line but the outdoor industry’s mission to collectively […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors
Could a massive southern Colorado ranch become a state park? It’s an idea just “crazy” enough to work.
TRINIDAD — Fisher’s Peak looms over every block of this city. “There are so many views you can get of that peak in town. Like when the clouds are low and it looks like it’s just dangling in midair. That view is part of every day in Trinidad,” Mayor Phil Rico says. Despite the everyday […]