The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Stewardship coordinator, wildlife crossing, agriculture gates and wet meadows work
By Katherine Nettles
The Gunnison County Sustainable Tourism & Outdoor Recreation (STOR) Committee was awarded a $225,000 grant this month to help fund trail stewardship, wildlife crossing plans, reduce the impacts of recreation on agricultural operations and restore wet meadow habitat. The funding comes from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to be used in 2026.
According to a press release from GOCO, “Funding will help the Gunnison STOR Committee complete a regional conservation and recreation plan. The planning process will emphasize coordinating and consolidating existing efforts that have gone through community planning processes while also engaging additional key stakeholders. Partners will conduct wildlife crossing planning in coordination with the Colorado Department of Transportation to improve landscape connectivity and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. Funding will also support seasonal public lands stewardship and ranger capacity, and help install agricultural gates to reduce conflicts between recreation and ranching.”
Gunnison County announced the news last week in their newsletter, stating, “This funding will strengthen public lands stewardship across the Gunnison Valley by supporting two years of our shared stewardship coordinator position (co-funded with the National Forest Foundation), expanding seasonal ranger and stewardship capacity, installing agricultural gates to reduce recreation/ranching conflicts, advancing wet meadow habitat restoration in partnership with the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District and launching wildlife crossing planning with CDOT to improve connectivity and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.”
GOCO has repeatedly invested in Gunnison County for land conservation, recreation and stewardship.
“This grant continues to strengthen our close collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, local nonprofits like Gunnison Trails, and our federal land management partners as we work together to protect landscapes, support wildlife, and enhance outdoor experiences for everyone,” commented Gunnison County communications director Patty Dowd Schmitz.
GOCO awarded more than $12 million between Chaffee, Clear Creek and Eagle counties to support stewardship and land conservation, as well as five other collaborative conservation and recreation efforts in Gunnison County, southwest Denver, Grand County, the Roaring Fork Valley and a network of outdoor regional partnerships. The grants are part of more than $25.5 million in GOCO funding announced across the state for conservation and recreation efforts.
