A. Land, Water, and Wildlife Protection Program
Through its public process GOCO learned the protection of river
corridors is a priority for Coloradans. These corridors provide
rich and diverse terrestrial and aquatic habitats, public and
privately owned open space corridors, and recreational opportunities;
these projects also afford the opportunity to integrate these
aspects of GOCO’s mission.
Benchmark related to Initiative: Identify and protect ten important river corridors for their
open space, wildlife habitat, and/or recreational uses.
Objective: Support the assessment of and strategies to protect
important river corridors.
Approaches: River Corridor Assessments
Award planning grants to local governments, state agencies and/or
nonprofit organizations for the assessment and identification
of important river corridors. Grants may be for specific sites,
multi-jurisdictional planning, and/or multi-objective planning
(e.g. open space, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation and trails).
Capacity Building
Provide grants to establish and support local organizations involved
in the protection of river corridors.
Objective: Support land, water and wildlife protection efforts
that protect wildlife, open space, and compatible outdoor recreational
uses of river corridors.
Approaches: Acquisitions
Assist with the purchase of lands in fee title for open space,
wildlife habitat, agricultural lands and recreational corridors.
Assist with the purchase of conservation easements in perpetuity
for open space, wildlife habitat, agricultural lands and recreational
corridors and/or provide transaction costs associated with the
donation of easements.
Approaches: Assist with the purchase of water for instream flows for the
benefit of recreation and/or wildlife habitat OR provide transaction
costs associated with long term management agreements and/or the
donation of instream flow rights.
Assist with the purchase easements along river corridors for recreational
access and trails.
Restoration and enhancement of public and private lands
Provide grants for habitat improvements on public lands and cost-sharing
grants for improvements on private lands.
Objective: Provide for the long term stewardship of lands acquired
with GOCO funding.
Approaches: One-time stewardship costs
Provide initial, one-time grants to support stewardship on properties
protected where GOCO was a funding partner.
Annual stewardship grants
Provide annual grants to accomplish stewardship activities on
lands acquired in part with GOCO funds.
Endowments
In unique cases, establish an endowment, through one-time or annual
installments over a period of years, that will generate the annual
income necessary to accomplish stewardship activities on lands
acquired in part with GOCO funds.
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Initiative 2) Protect Colorado’s Unique Natural Areas & Wildlife Habitats
Through its public process GOCO learned the long-term viability
of Colorado’s remarkable diversity of native species is a priority
for Coloradans. These species provide a truly natural legacy that
is at risk due to conversion of land to other uses and loss of
habitats. Unique habitats have been identified that present protection
opportunities -- those areas of the state that provide the most
biologically rich, but threatened, landscapes.
Benchmark related to Initiative: Protect targeted species and most threatened habitat within landscapes
by (1) maintaining biodiversity health, (2) measurably enhancing
habitat quality, and (3) minimizing and mitigating threats to
the habitats.
Objective: Support efforts to create and strengthen local partnerships
to help achieve land protection strategies within important conservation
areas.
Approaches: Capacity Building
Provide grants to state and local non-profit land trusts and local
governments to develop and expand their capacity to assist in
the protection of important conservation areas.
Planning
Provide grants to local governments, state agencies and non-profits
to identify, develop, and/or and refine specific land protection
strategies within important conservation areas.
Objective: Support land, water and wildlife protection strategies
that protect habitats, rather than focus on islands of protected
individual parcels.
Approaches: Acquisitions
Objective: Provide for the long-term stewardship of lands acquired
with GOCO funding.
Approaches: One-time stewardship costs
Provide initial, one-time grants to support stewardship on properties
protected where GOCO was a funding partner.
Annual stewardship grants
Provide annual grants to accomplish stewardship activities on
lands acquired in part with GOCO funds.
Endowments
In unique cases, establish an endowment, through one-time or annual
installments over a period of years, that will generate the annual
income necessary to accomplish stewardship activities on lands
acquired in part with GOCO funds.
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Through its public process GOCO learned that in certain areas
of the state, protecting the unique identity and character of
communities through the establishment of open space corridors
and greenbelts is a priority.
Benchmarks related to Initiative: Preserve significant open space corridors protected between communities
along the Front Range and in the mountain valleys.
Objective: Support and strengthen local partnerships that result
in local strategies to establish and protect community separators.
Approaches: Planning
Provide grants to local governments and nonprofit partners to
foster cooperation and collaboration between and among local governments,
identify priority community separators, and develop site-specific
protection strategies.
Capacity Building
Provide grants to local governments and nonprofit partners to
ensure their capacity to assist with the identification and protection
of community separators.
Acquisitions
Assist with the purchase of lands in fee title for open space,
recreation, and agricultural lands within community separators.
Assist in the purchase of conservation easements for open space,
recreation, and agricultural lands within community separators.
Objective: Provide for the long term stewardship of lands acquired
with GOCO funding.
Approaches: One-time stewardship costs
Provide initial, one-time grants to support stewardship on properties
protected where GOCO was a funding partner.
Annual stewardship grants
Provide annual grants to accomplish stewardship activities on
lands acquired in part with GOCO funds.
Endowments
In unique cases, establish an endowment, through one-time or annual
installments over a period of years, that will generate the annual
income necessary to accomplish stewardship activities on lands
acquired in part with GOCO funds.
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Initiative 4) Protect Land for Future Parks & Outdoor Recreation
As Colorado’s population increases, demand for park and outdoor
recreation opportunities -- places to play ball, hike, relax and
camp -- has increased. Through its public process GOCO learned
that securing recreation lands now so that future generations
can enjoy the same or higher level of outdoor recreational opportunities
we enjoy today is a priority to Coloradans.
Benchmark related to Initiative: Secure new and expand existing State and local parks and outdoor
recreation sites to meet future recreational demands across the
state.
Objective: Support efforts to identify needs and sites for future
parks and outdoor recreation areas.
Approaches: Planning
Provide grants to State Parks to identify and develop priorities
for future State Parks and Recreation Areas.
Assist local communities with identifying priorities for future
park and outdoor recreation sites.
Objective: Secure land for future state and local parks and outdoor
recreation areas.
Approaches: Acquisitions
Assist with the purchase lands or water in fee title for public
park and outdoor
recreation use.
Assist with the purchase land or easements for trails.
Assist with the purchase leases on land or water for future outdoor
recreation use.
Objective: Provide for the long term stewardship of lands acquired
by State Parks with GOCO funding.
Approaches: One-time stewardship costs
Provide initial, one-time grants to support stewardship on properties
protected where GOCO was a funding partner.
Annual stewardship grants
Provide annual grants to State Parks to accomplish stewardship
activities on lands acquired in part with GOCO funds.
Endowments
In unique cases, establish an endowment, through one-time or annual
installments over a period of years, that will generate the annual
income necessary to accomplish stewardship activities on lands
acquired in part with GOCO funds.
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With 88 percent of Colorado’s private lands currently in agriculture,
it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve many important
public benefits related to GOCO’s mission -- open space and wildlife
habitat protection goals -- without the cooperation, support,
and participation of the agricultural community. Further, greater
than 60 percent of these lands are held by landowners nearing
retirement age, creating the possibility of high turnover on these
lands in the not too distant future. Through its public process
GOCO learned that the protection of agricultural lands is a priority
to Coloradans because of the benefits they provide for wildlife
habitat, open space, scenic view corridors, and/or community separators
and because of their contribution to maintaining a working landscape.
Benchmarks related to Initiative: Protect strategic working landscapes in Colorado through acquisition
of easements on strategic agricultural lands. Increase the capacity
of the organizations and agencies in the state to identify and
protect strategic agricultural lands.
Strategic agricultural lands are those strategic to both GOCO’s
mission – to protect open space, wildlife habitat, scenic view
corridors, and community separators – and the scale and viability
of agriculture in the region.
Objective: Assist with the identification of strategic agricultural
lands.
Approaches: Planning
Convene agricultural, government, nonprofit and other interests
to help assess and identify strategic agricultural areas of the
state.
Provide grants to develop and/or refine strategies for the protection
of strategic agricultural lands.
Capacity Building
Provide grants to local, regional and statewide agricultural organizations
to ensure
their capacity to assist in the protection of strategic agricultural
lands.
Objective: Assist with efforts to protect strategic agricultural
lands.
Approaches: Acquisition of conservation easements
Assist in the acquisition of agricultural conservation easements.
Donation of conservation easements
Assist in paying for transaction costs for the donation of conservation
easements on properties where landowners cannot afford them.
Purchase of conservation leases
Assist organizations and agencies with the acquisition of long-term
leases on lands that provide significant open space, wildlife,
recreation and/or scenic values.
Objective: Provide for the long term stewardship of lands acquired
with GOCO funding.
Approaches: Voluntary Stewardship
Encourage stewardship activities which further GOCO objectives
on agricultural properties where conservation easements are acquired.
One-time stewardship costs
Provide initial, one-time grants to support stewardship on properties
protected where GOCO was a funding partner.
Annual stewardship grants
Provide annual grants to accomplish stewardship activities on
lands acquired in part with GOCO funds.
Endowments
In unique cases, establish an endowment, through one-time or annual
installments over a period of years, that will generate the annual
income necessary to accomplish stewardship activities on lands
acquired in part with GOCO funds.
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