State considers $5.8M in trail grants Thursday
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 10 April 2012 16:44
- Written by Dena Rosenberry
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will vote Thursday on awarding $5.8 million in grants for motorized and non-motorized trail projects to be completed in 2012 and 2013.
Commissioners also are expected to approve adding two tracts in the Pike National Forest to the Colorado Natural Areas Program. The meeting is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Pueblo Union Depot, 132 W. B St. in Pueblo.
Funded by the sale of Off-Highway Vehicle registrations and use permits, Colorado's OHV Trails Program awards grants each year that support trail projects across the state. Applications are submitted in December and scored by trail grant review committees made up of agency staff and outside reviewers representing the full spectrum of trail recreation interests.
The OHV Grant Review and Ranking Subcommittee has recommended awarding $4.2 million to 29 projects and 18 Good Management work crews, including help for U.S. Forest Service efforts to complete trail reroutes and upgrades outlined in the Rampart Recreation Area's 2005 travel management plan, a grant to the Western Slope ATV Association for ongoing trail maintenance and improvements on the Grand Mesa, and support for a trail workshop to be hosted by the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition to educate trail users about resource stewardship and working with land managers.
More than 160,000 OHVs were registered or permitted for use in Colorado during the 2010-11 season.
Non-motorized trail projects recommended for approval include a proposal to extend the Colorado Riverfront Trail in Fruita, a five-trail maintenance and reroute project along the Front Range and the Regional Fourteener Trail Maintenance Project, which will tackle 34 miles of high-priority rebuilding and rerouting projects on some of Colorado's most beloved high-elevation hiking routes.
Commissioners also are expected approve two additions to the Colorado Natural Areas Program. Both the 6,300-acre East Lost Park area and the 373-acre Hoosier Ridge area are in the Pike National Forest in Park County.
Located within the Lost Creek Wilderness Area, the 6,300-acre East Lost Park hosts the largest population of Porter feathergrass, which is found only in South Park. High alpine limestone outcrops make the 373-acre Hoosier Ridge area one of the richest botanical sites in Colorado.
Since 1997, the Colorado Natural Areas Program has worked with willing landowners to conserve ecosystems, species, geology and fossils that represent unique resources in Colorado. CNAP has helped protect more than 150 rare, threatened or endangered species and plant communities at 90 sites across Colorado.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is a 14-member board, appointed by the governor, which sets regulations and policies for Colorado's state parks wildlife programs.
See the complete meeting agenda.
The Commission's meetings are open to the public. To access the live audio feed during the meeting, click on the "listen to live audio" link at the bottom of the commission webpage.
