Here is an opportunity to participate from the comfort of your own sofa. The Colorado the Beautiful plan identifies four initiatives to accomplish Governor Hickenlooper's vision of having "every Coloradoan living within a 10-minute walk of a park, trail, or open space."
One of the four initiatives is completion of the Colorado Trails Strategic Plan, which is ongoing right now. There is a huge push to construct new trails connecting populated areas with open space, as well as to add trails that make "connections" between locations or other trails. The State Trails Program awards $8 to $9 million annually in trails grants.
There will be a "Phone-in Town Hall" Wednesday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm which will allow for up to 50,000 people to participate (now that's a conference call). It is very important that sportsmen participate in this process, particularly if you are concerned with protecting critical wildlife habitats. Trails constructed adjacent to urban centers are often located on crucial big game winter ranges or in riparian areas. The mountain bike cohort in particular has really been pushing for more trails in these lower elevation areas where the snow stays bared off most of the winter, and local communities are supporting their efforts for the increase in tourism. Our big game populations will once again take a back seat to development interests if we don't speak up during this process.
You can find the draft Strategic Plan, which will be the topic of discussion, at this link. The word "wildlife" occurs two times in the document:
Who: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
What: Phone-in Town Hall
When: Wednesday, March 23, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: Your sofa
Why: Get in the arena
Call in number 1-877-229-8493
Pin # 111956
One of the four initiatives is completion of the Colorado Trails Strategic Plan, which is ongoing right now. There is a huge push to construct new trails connecting populated areas with open space, as well as to add trails that make "connections" between locations or other trails. The State Trails Program awards $8 to $9 million annually in trails grants.
There will be a "Phone-in Town Hall" Wednesday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm which will allow for up to 50,000 people to participate (now that's a conference call). It is very important that sportsmen participate in this process, particularly if you are concerned with protecting critical wildlife habitats. Trails constructed adjacent to urban centers are often located on crucial big game winter ranges or in riparian areas. The mountain bike cohort in particular has really been pushing for more trails in these lower elevation areas where the snow stays bared off most of the winter, and local communities are supporting their efforts for the increase in tourism. Our big game populations will once again take a back seat to development interests if we don't speak up during this process.
You can find the draft Strategic Plan, which will be the topic of discussion, at this link. The word "wildlife" occurs two times in the document:
Who: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
What: Phone-in Town Hall
When: Wednesday, March 23, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: Your sofa
Why: Get in the arena
Call in number 1-877-229-8493
Pin # 111956
