DENVER—Conservation projects designed to preserve 138,000 acres of Colorado land received $57 million in grants from Colorado Lottery proceeds on Monday.
They include a combined $10.5 million for two greenway projects along the South Platte River in the Denver area and $7.4 million to protect nearly 5,700 acres along the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.
The grants will fund six new projects and nine already under way. The grants are awarded by Great Outdoors Colorado, which distributes proceeds from the state lottery for projects that protect and improve wildlife, parks, rivers, trails and open space.
The $57 million is in “Legacy” grants, awarded periodically by GOCO as cash flow allows.
The other new projects receiving Legacy grants were protecting open space and starting a recreation trail in the Crystal River watershed in Pitkin County, $5 million; starting a 10-year program to protect 250,000 acres along Fountain Creek in El Paso, Pueblo, Lincoln and Crowley counties, $4.75 million; and protecting about 4,400 acres in the Upper San Juan River watershed in Archuleta and Mineral counties, $4.15 million.
The existing projects receiving Legacy grants were a statewide wildlife habitat-protection program of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, $8 million; the San Juan Skyway Project in Ouray, Montezuma and La Plata counties, $4.39 million; the Gunnison Headwaters Project in Gunnison and Saguache counties, $3 million; Phase 2 of the Wet Mountain Valley Ranchland Preservation program in Custer County, $2 million; the Yampa Rivers to Ridges Project in Steamboat Springs, $2 million; preserving the top of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, $2 million; Colorado Front Range Trail, $2 million; water for St. Vrain State Park in Weld County, $2 million; and the Manitou Section 16 project, $1 million.
At a news conference announcing the grants, Gov. Bill Ritter said they were investments in Colorado’s natural assets that benefit state’s economy and residents as well as the natural features themselves.
