ALAMOSA – Last week, the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) board announced their award of two grants to two government subdivisions in the San Luis Valley – the city of Alamosa and Costilla County – for a combined amount of $40,900.

The grants were part of GOCO’s Conservation Service Corps program. GOCO partners with Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) to employ conservation service corps crews across the state on outdoor recreation and stewardship projects. CYCA represents a statewide coalition of eight accredited corps that train youth, young adults, and veterans to complete land and water conservation work and gain professional skills.

To the City of Alamosa, the GOCO board awarded $28,550 for trail maintenance and fire mitigation work at The Wilderness and the Oxbow Recreation Area.

With the funding they received, the City of Alamosa will hire Southwest Conservation Corps-Los Valles (SCC-LV) crews for three weeks of work on two city property areas identified as high-risk for fire.

Crews will work on 11 acres at The Wilderness and 40 acres of the Oxbow Recreation Area, reducing fuel loads to create defensible spaces in the case of wildfire. Crews will also conduct trail maintenance work in areas requiring better drainage. This project is part of a multi-year, GOCO-supported collaboration between CYCA and SCC-LV to help the City of Alamosa develop and maintain a growing trail system. 

To Costilla County, the GOCO board awarded a $17,350 grant to maintain and improve 11 miles of trail. Like the neighboring City of Alamosa, Costilla County will also hire a Southwest Conservation Corps-Los Valles (SCC-LV) crew, in this case for two weeks of work within the Rito Seco Park Trail Complex and on the Greenbelt Trail.

The Costilla County project aims to increase safety and improve accessibility to the Sangre de Cristo Ranches Greenbelt, which offers a lush stretch of creek filled with beaver ponds, wildflowers, historic log cabin ruins, and more.

“Colorado’s iconic public and protected lands are being enjoyed by millions of people each year making the stewardship of these resources critical,” said Scott Segerstrom, executive director of CYCA. “Colorado’s iconic public and protected lands are being enjoyed by millions of people each year making the stewardship of these resources critical.

“These investments by GOCO ensure that conservation service corps can rise to this challenge and keep these lands healthy and accessible for everyone. Equally important, GOCO’s investments create hundreds of jobs that will be filled by youth and young adults from across the state. Together, CYCA and GOCO are not only securing the future of these lands, we are changing the trajectory of lives.”

To date, GOCO has invested more than $8.7 million in projects in Alamosa County and partnered to conserve 30,665 acres of land there. GOCO funding has supported Green Ranch, Alamosa Riparian Park, and the local Generation Wild coalition, San Luis Valley Generation Wild, among other projects.

In Costilla County thus far, GOCO has invested more than $5.6 million in projects and partnered to conserve 26,996 acres of land there. GOCO funding has supported SLV Generation Wild, one of 12 Generation Wild communities in Colorado, as well as the Brownie Hills acquisition, Fort Garland Park project, Costilla County Outdoor Fitness Center and Exercise Park, and Rio Grande recreation and habitat conservation efforts, among other projects.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 5,600 projects in all 64 counties of Colorado without any tax dollar support.

Anyone interested in more information should visit the Great Outdoors Colorado website at www.GOCO.org.