At its April 16 meeting, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved a letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) supporting a grant application by the Pagosa Area Recreation Coalition to support the creation of a regional outdoor recreation management plan.
At a BoCC work session earlier in the day, County Attorney Todd Weaver explained that, following the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) deciding to not move forward with a trail system on Jackson Mountain, many of the stakeholders involved in the project, including the San Juan Back Country Horsemen and the San Juan Outdoor Club, expressed a desire to work with the USFS to develop a regional plan for trail and recreation development.
He stated that the effort was led by the Pagosa Area Trails Council (PATC) and that he was involved as an ex officio representative for the county and a trail runner.
Weaver explained that, during this project, the PATC became aware of the Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnership Initiative Grant Opportunity from CPW and GOCO, which could offer between $150,000 and $200,000 to assist the development of an outdoor regional recreation plan.
“This was exactly what the group had envisioned in conjunction with the Forest Service,” Weaver said, adding that the USFS is heavily involved with the project and is helping lead the grant application process.
He added that, in addition to the letter of support from the county that the BoCC would consider, the group is also requesting a letter of support from the Town of Pagosa Springs.
Weaver commented that, if the grant is awarded, the groups involved in the grant discussed the potential of forming a recreation district for the area, which Weaver noted that the county and town have discussed in the past.
“This seems to be a really good opportunity to try to wrap all the things together in a package where, if the grant is awarded, the hired consultant can come in and really develop this recreational plan,” he said. “The area proposed for recreation is not just Archuleta County, it’s also going to include the southern side of Hinsdale and Mineral, most of those people who come to Pagosa anyway for shopping or anything else.”
Weaver commented that this recreation plan would use updated USFS boundaries and other elements to designate the area covered and that the group also needs to reach out to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to assess its interest in being involved in the planning process.
“So, that’s the plan,” he said. “It’s kind of a regional, long-term, five, 10 year on developing sustainable outdoor recreation. We know that tourism is a mainstay in this economy. People come to Pagosa not for the hotels and the shopping, they’re coming because of the beauty and the recreation of the outdoors that we have, and that’s what attracts them here. And, so, having a plan in place not only to make it possible to develop new recreational opportunities but to improve and promote what we already have seems like a very good thing for the county to support.”
Weaver concluded by stating that the grant application would need to be submitted by April 30 and that an award decision could potentially be announced a month after that.
The Pagosa Springs Town Council also approved a letter of support at its April 18 meeting.
josh@pagosasun.com
