2 weeks Ago By Ian Harper
Colorado's landscape and outdoor recreation scene are set to get a major boost, as state leaders have just launched Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy. This framework aims to support the state’s unique natural environment while catering to the growing hordes of outdoor enthusiasts and residents. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Strategy was announced at the Partners in the Outdoors Conference in Colorado Springs and includes input from a variety of key state departments and conservation groups.
Working in concert, Governor Jared Polis, alongside partners from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), and several other state entities, rolled out the Strategy, which confronts the pressures of growing populations, climate change, and outdoor activity impacting wildlife habitats. While speaking at the conference, Polis emphasized the need to maintain the "thriving natural environments" that the state provides. The Governor stressed, "But our wild areas face significant and urgent pressures," and the urgency in dealing with these issues, as reported by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The State aims to embody a balance between conservation and recreation to cater to a population projected to swell to 8.5 million by 2050, while still prioritizing climate-resilient land and water conservation. In the words of Jeff Davis, Director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Strategy acts as a 'North Star' leading efforts to champion the state’s outdoors, Davis told Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Colorado's Outdoors Strategy is distinctive, not just in its vision but also with practical tools such as a Resource Hub, which streamlines collaboration between public and private partners in planning for conservation and outdoor recreation. This includes an extensive set of data and mapping tools, including the Conservation Data Explorer (CODEX). Colorado’s Conservation Data Explorer seems to strengthen the skill set for local and state-level collaboration, as noted by the Governor's Office of Climate Preparedness & Disaster Recovery Director, Jonathan Asher, to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
With these tools and partnerships, the strategy encompasses nine objectives and a bevy of actions spanning across various sectors. It's no secret that collaboration is key, with entities like the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Bureau of Land Management chiming in on the benefits of the strategy. According to the erstwhile Doug Vilsack, Colorado State Director for the Bureau of Land Management, who highlighted the essentialness of partnerships for managing the over 10 million visitors to BLM public lands in Colorado, "This new strategy continues Colorado’s leadership in fostering collaboration between hunters, anglers, boaters, climbers, equestrians, mountain bikers, OHVers, and so many more partners," he mentioned, as covered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
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