Two Pueblo-area conservation projects getting over $76,000 grant from Colorado Lottery program

Anna Lynn Winfrey, Pueblo Chieftain
·2 min read

Two projects in Pueblo County are getting an influx of cash from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Colorado Lottery’s program for outdoor investments in the state.

Both of these grants, totaling $76,100, are part of a program for conservation service corps that “train youth, young adults and veterans to complete land and water conservation work and gain professional skills,” according to a press release from GOCO.

The Southern Front Range chapter of the Mile High Youth Corps will be partnering with the city of Pueblo as well as the Fountain Creek district on two projects in the Pueblo area.

The city of Pueblo got a $46,750 grant to work on maintaining a partnership trail that goes between the Northridge Trail in the city-owned Pueblo Mountain Park and the Squirrel Creek Trail maintained by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

“This project supports the shared goal of the local Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, USFS and Southern Colorado Trail Builders to restore the connectivity, accessibility, and sustainability of trail systems to their former glory as the first USFS recreational area and campground in the country,” the release states.

Another grant, totaling $29,350, has been awarded to the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District. This will go toward mitigating invasive species in a few “critical” areas spanning a total of 7.8 acres near state Highway 47 (César Chávez Boulevard), 13th Street and the Pueblo Levee, which builds on the $33 million the district has put into restoring Fountain Creek.

“This work will help the district analyze the effectiveness of previous creek restoration projects and establish a baseline for ongoing maintenance,” according to the release.

Fountain Creek as seen from the trail system by the 8th Street bridge on Pueblo's East Side. A project completed in June 2021 narrowed the channel to make it easier for sediment to pass through.
Fountain Creek as seen from the trail system by the 8th Street bridge on Pueblo's East Side. A project completed in June 2021 narrowed the channel to make it easier for sediment to pass through.

Over the past 31 years since GOCO was created by a voter-approved state constitutional amendment in 1992, projects in Pueblo County have received over $26.8 million, according to the release.

Some of the local areas that have previously received funding include the Pueblo Reservoir State Wildlife Area, Lake Pueblo State Park and various projects along the Arkansas River. An independent board has funded over 5,600 projects in all of the state’s 64 counties.

Anna Lynn Winfrey is a reporter at the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Two Pueblo-area conservation projects are getting an influx of cash