Grant for park approved, forest resiliency reviewed
Grant for park approved, forest resiliency reviewed
Rico Board of Trustees monthly meeting
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March 20, 2024
Ore Cart - photo
August 21, 2022
In this report
- GOCO provides $594K support for Park project
- Regional partnership promotes upper Dolores River forest health
“We were awarded our GOCO grant," announced Rico Town Manager Chauncey McCarthy at the March 20, 2024 Rico Board of Trustees regular monthly meeting. "We've been talking to our vendors and getting lined up for the construction season." He listed some of the approved new features: pavilion with concrete pad that will double as a skating rink, pump track, and playground upgrades.
Town of Rico has applied to various foundations for additional funding, he added, “to offset some of these costs and make the build-out robust in certain components and aspects:”
- permanent bathroom with flushing toilet
- multi-modal path to connect upper and lower parks
- pavilion power and lighting
- skatepark custom features
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GOCO board awards $7M in grants for planning and capacity, recreation facilities, land conservation.
March 15, 2024
DENVER – Today, the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) board awarded $7,057,688 in grants through three of its base programs: planning and capacity, community impact, and land acquisition. This round of grants will help partners complete 16 community-driven outdoors projects impacting 39 of Colorado’s 64 counties.
GOCO’s Community Impact program develops and revitalizes parks, trails, school yards, fairgrounds, environmental education facilities, and other outdoor projects that enhance a community’s quality of life and access to the outdoors. Projects include: . . .
The Rico Town Park and Outdoor Recreation Hub Project
$594,990 to the Town of Rico
Funding will help the Town of Rico revitalize a neglected property along the Dolores River at the bottom of Depot Hill at the Rio South Grande Southern Railroad trailhead. The community recreation space features a bicycle pump track, a covered ice rink, a summer picnic structure, tables, riverside benches, and a skatepark. In addition, the project will upgrade and expand outdated equipment in the existing playground to provide a better experience for kids, from pre-kindergarten to pre-teen ages. This project builds on the momentum of several years of community engagement, which surfaced a shared vision to rebuild community recreation spaces and enhance neglected riverside property into resources for locals and visitors alike. The site will double the park space in the community. More than 50 formal and informal meetings with residents and surveys helped the Town prioritize amenities.
source:
Great Outdoors Colorado↗
2) Regional partnership promotes upper Dolores River forest health
Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest Collaborative map from March 20, 2024 Board of Trustees meeting presentation showing Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) Rico Priority Area. Pipeline intake for the out-of-service Silver Creek water system is shown. Town is reviewing funding options for upgrading and re-starting this municipal water source. (Map title added by Ore Cart)
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Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest Collaborative representative Nina Williams explained the organization’s goals for maintaining forest health in cooperation with several government jurisdictions and agencies, forest industry, and conservation groups.
Excerpts from the Trustees meeting presentation and
Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest Collaborative↗
We share knowledge and resources and develop approaches that enhance ecological and community resilience to wildfire and environmental change. We recognize the many links between social, economic, and ecological wellbeing, and work to enhance our communities’ ability to safely live with fire. Together, we work to:
- Collaboratively implement forest management and monitoring activities.Use the best available science to inform resilient land management actions and community risk reduction
- Increase the capacity of the local forest products industry and integration with collaborative management.
- Better prepare for, respond to, and aid recovery from wildfire.
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PARTNERS & STAKEHOLDERS
Federal Agencies/Entities
Natural Resources Conservation Service
San Juan National Forest
Tres Rios Bureau of Land Management
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
. . .
State Agencies
Colorado Division of Fire Prevention
and Control
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Colorado State Forest Service
Colorado State University Extension
. . .
Water
Bureau of Reclamation
Dolores Water Conservancy District
City of Cortez
. . .
Local Government
Dolores County
Montezuma County
City of Cortez
Town of Dolores
Town of Dove Creek
Town of Rico
. . .
Local Organizations
Fire Adapted Colorado
Mancos Conservation District
Mancos Trails Group
Montezuma Lands Conservancy
Mountain Studies Institute
San Juan Citizens Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
Trout Unlimited – Dolores River Anglers
Wildfire Adapted Partnership
. . .
Wood Products Industry
Aspen Wall Wood
Findley logging
Ironwood Group LLC
Montrose Forest Products
Short Forestry LLC
Stonertop Lumber
Underwood Forestry LLC
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MISSION
Promote forest, community, and watershed resilience through collaboration.
VISION
A resilient and adaptive upper Dolores River watershed that provides ecosystem services, maintains ecological integrity, and sustains community values in the face of environmental change, supported by a diverse and active collaborative group.
COLLABORATE WITH LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES
On active forest treatments, mapping and analyses, policy recommendations, and monitoring and adaptive management efforts.
FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
Increase local forest product industry capacity, viability, and sustainability by integrating them into forest treatment initiatives that reduce risk and enhance resilience.
RESILIENT FORESTS & COMMUNITIES
DWRF prioritizes work on public and private lands that enhance ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity, and reduce risks to homes, water supplies, infrastructure, and community assets.
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