BOARD00190

• Board Meeting Date: 7/24/2000
• Description: ISF Section - Proposed GOCO Planning Grant
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Next steps in GOCO's River Corridor Initiative
June 21, 2000

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The highest priority for GOCO investment identified in GOCO's 1998-1999 Strategic
Planning process was protection of land, .,vater, wildlife and recreational opportunities
along Colorado's river corridors. Great Outdoors Colorado has already invested tens of
millions of dollars in river corridors in response to proposals developed by local
community groups, land trusts and state agencies. GOCO's river corridor investments
include the Yampa through Routt and Moffat Counties, the Colorado in Mesa County, the
South Platte in Douglas, Arapahoe, Denver and Adams Counties, the Poudre and Big
Thompson in Larimer and Weld Counties, aJ1d others.

GOCO believes a logical next step in pursuing this high priority of Colorado residents is
to identify other river corridor segments where protection needs are most urgent. This
effort would focus on areas where needs are high but local communities have not yet
organized to the point that they have developed the plans and resources of the projects
named above,

To help accomplish this, GOCO is considering requesting proposals for a contractor or
contractor partnership to assist in this task. The contractor's responsibility would be to
collect existing research regarding the condition of Colorado's river corridors (no original
field research would be funded in this effort), contact affected stakeholders including
local agricultural and recreational communities and local governments, synthesize this
data, and draft an action agenda, This agenda would suggest the best strategic
,,-... opportunities for GOCO investment in local projects that would provide the best ''bang
for the buck" in resource protection.

Topics we'd ask the contractor to look at where data are available might include:

· Has this river corridor segment been the subject of a GOCO Planning grant? What is
its status?

· Are there other local planning efforts underway or completed?

. What are the major issues related to this river corridor segment? What land, water, or
wildlife protection needs have been identified? What recreational acceSS or facility
development needs have been identified? Examples include:

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~ Water quality issues
~ Water quantity/instream flows for endangered species
~ Urban trails and parks issues
)- Adjacent agricultural lands protection needs
~ Regiona.l trail corridor potential
";> Gravel mining/ponds reuse
>- Wetlands protection needs
>- Wildlife protection issues

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