COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE Great Outdoors Colorado FY 2016-2017 Annual Report Letter from the Working Together for Director Colorado I’m pleased to submit the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Annual Report to the Board of Colorado is recognized around the country and the world for its beautiful scenery and the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust. GOCO is a vital partner to CPW and makes many diverse natural attributes. Outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of the Colorado lifestyle of the things we do possible. This report contains information about the CPW programs and quality of life, and access to outdoor recreation opportunities has been valued and projects that benefitted from GOCO’s support in state fiscal year 2016-17. through much of the state’s history. Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) is a major funding partner in Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) efforts and supports a wide variety of GOCO’s ongoing investments in Colorado’s wildlife, parks, and wildlife areas through volunteer, youth, and education programs, park and operating management activities, CPW are extensive and diverse. CPW highlights from the last fiscal year that were species conservation efforts, habitat protection throughout Colorado and enhancement, made possible by GOCO funding include: maintenance and development of trails and infrastructure projects throughout Colorado. • The protection of more than 6,500 acres of important wildlife In 2015 the GOCO Board adopted a new five-year strategic plan to guide funding habitat throughout Colorado. priorities through 2020. The plan is based around three key principles: • Operating support at Colorado’s 41 state parks, which hosted more than 14.8 million visitor days in FY 2016-17. GOCO funding has Protect more urban and rural land for people and wildlife been crucial to the development of Staunton State Park, the newest Connect people to the outdoors park in our system. Inspire more kids and families to explore and take care of our great outdoors • Support for more than 300,000 hours of volunteer activity at Colorado’s wildlife areas and state parks. This annual report is structured around these ideas. There is significant overlap between • More than 26 miles of new trail construction and 37 miles of trail the missions of CPW and GOCO, and a wide variety of programs, projects, and activities maintenance across the state. managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife are supported with GOCO funding. This annual report highlights the great things that CPW has been able to accomplish in state fiscal year The partnership between CPW and GOCO will only become more important as we begin 2016-17 with GOCO’s help. to address challenges in the near- and long-term future. Colorado is a wonderful place to live, attracting visitors and new residents from across the country. Increased population CPW receives almost no general tax support, and GOCO funding is vital to the ongoing growth will apply increased pressure on the state’s wildlife and natural resources. Ongoing mission of CPW and makes many of the things we accomplish possible. At the end of GOCO support for CPW’s hunter education, resource stewardship, species conservation, this report you will find financial tables detailing GOCO’s support for CPW in FY 2016- and interpretive programs will help educate and train the next generation of natural 17 organized by Constitutional purpose and grant. CPW leveraged this GOCO funding resource stewards in Colorado. GOCO and CPW are separate entities, but a shared vision against almost $170.0 million in other funding to help protect our landscapes, connect of the future of Colorado’s natural resources unites our agencies. Coloradans to the outdoors, and inspire kids and families to get outside. Sincerely, $15,250,585 $15,250,585 FY 2016-17 FY 2016-17 Bob Broscheid TOTAL AWARD FOR STATE PARKS TOTAL AWARD FOR WILDLIFE Director, Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2 3 Protect LAND, WATER, WILDLIFE Protecting Colorado’s most valuable natural resources. Protection of Colorado’s resources is the shared mission of Great Outdoors Colorado and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 4 5 DELLIVENERI/CPW Highlight: WASHBURN PHASE II LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROTECTION SAN MIGUEL COUNTY This project added 1,680 acres of protected habitat in San Miguel County. Combined with an earlier phase, the result is more than 3,000 acres of protected habitat for sage grouse, deer CPW is responsible for the acquisition, Colorado’s 66 million acres of land includes and elk winter and summer range, and bear protection and management of lands, 11.5 million acres of cropland, which and mountain lion habitat. water resources and water rights in sustains more than 36,000 ranches and farms. coordination with local, state and federal Without private landowner support, access agencies, non-governmental partners and to Colorado’s abundant wildlife and world- private landowners. class recreation opportunities would not exist. GOCO funding helps CPW leverage opportunities to protect these resources in perpetuity. Highlight: POT CREEK RANCH MOFFAT COUNTY GOCO-SUPPORTED PROJECTS IN FY 2016-17 GOCO funding helped secure a STAUNTON STATE PARK PARSONS-BROWN RANCH conservation easement and associated public access easement on the Pot Creek Ranch 160 ACRES 2,773 ACRES property in Moffat County. This 1,742 acre This fee title purchase is part of a long-term This third-party conservation easement property contains important habitat for sage vision to expand the boundary of Colorado’s protects 2,773 acres of important habitat in grouse, year-round range for mule deer and newest state park. Grand County. winter range for elk. DAWN REEDER/CPW DAWN ARKANSAS HEADWATERS LAZY V QUARTER CIRCLE RECREATION AREA RANCH PHASE II 2 ACRES 320 ACRES Purchase of the Texas Creek parcel fills in an This third-party conservation easement in important inholding in the park and provides Garfield County protects 320 acres, doubling $4,319,673 6,515 better access to the river for boating and the size of the first phase of the project. The other recreation. property is year-round mule deer, elk, bear and FY 2016-17 FY 2016-17 moose habitat and contains migration corridors, GOCO REIMBURSEMENTS WILDLIFE ACRES PROTECTED wetlands and riparian areas. FOR LAND ACQUISITION 6 7 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS Colorado’s system of state parks and wildlife maintenance at more than 1,400 structures areas is more than 50 years old and requires and more than 100 dams across the state. continuous maintenance, restoration and GOCO funding supports Capital Development upgrading to the standards expected by today’s Program operations and is the primary visitors. The CPW Capital Development funding sources for many capital projects. Program manages construction and JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR STAUNTON STATE PARK STATE PARK $219,000 $236,500 Davis Dams Recreation Park Fishing Pier Improvements This Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The project was developed to improve the accessible fishing pier replaces a dilapidated recreational activities around the Davis Ponds. cantilevered deck that only reached to the edge The improvements included constructing a of the reservoir’s water level. The new structure connector trail around the lakes, a vault toilet, provides a safe and accessible facility for all users a picnic shelter and handicap fishing pier. A and maximizes recreational use by providing parking lot was constructed that allows bus shade during the warmer seasons. parking for school groups and special events. JAMES M. ROBB COLORADO RIVER STATE PARK $6,219,763 $422,500 A-Loop Shade Shelters at FY 2016-17 Island Acres GOCO REIMBURSEMENTS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS High temperatures can often approach 100 degrees in the summer at this park. Strong winds also move up the canyon and cause distress with campsites. Prior to this project, only four camp sites in the A Loop contained shade shelters. Now all 34 sites in the loop provide protection for park visitors. $17.9 MILLION FY 2016-17 TOTAL GOCO FUNDING THAT SUPPORTED 23 CAPITAL PROJECTS 8 Staunton State Park picnic shelter 9 DOSKIL/CPW SPECIES CONSERVATION AND THE COLORADO NATURAL AREAS PROGRAM Colorado boasts some of the most diverse prosper today despite emerging habitat and and abundant wildlife populations in North climate challenges. GOCO funding supports America including an astonishing 960 wildlife CPW’s work on native species, threatened and species. CPW species conservation and wildlife endangered species, and the Colorado Natural reintroduction programs help many of the Areas Program. state’s most cherished and iconic species Lesser Prairie-Chicken Translocation CANADA LYNX MONITORING National Grassland in Colorado. The birds released in Colorado have been monitored using radio In FY 2016-17 CPW continued implementation telemetry and biologists documented several new of a monitoring program for Canada lynx in small leks. southwestern Colorado. Primary methods include use of trail cameras and snow tracking. Partnerships among many branches of CPW as GUNNISON’S PRAIRIE DOG well as US. Forest Service (USFS) staff provide PLAGUE MANAGEMENT assistance to make this program a success. Concern about Gunnison’s prairie dog populations, both range-wide and in Colorado, LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN stem from apparent declines in distribution TRANSLOCATION and abundance caused by multiple factors, with plague being identified as the dominant threat. CPW, in partnership with the Kansas Department With development of an oral plague vaccine, of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism and the USFS, identified Gunnison’s prairie dog colonies are has begun an ambitious effort to augment the also being vaccinated for the disease. In 2017, declining lesser prairie-chicken population in 2,120 acres of Gunnison’s prairie dog occupied southeastern Colorado. The multi-state partnership colonies were dusted and 1,968 acres received the effort trapped prairie-chickens in an area where oral plague vaccine. the species is doing well in western Kansas and released the birds on leks on the Comanche 10 CNAP 40th Event at Stauton State Park 11 Flowers at Pagosa Skyrocket Natural Area BLACK-FOOTED FERRET native bat species at randomly identified grid REINTRODUCTIONS cells across the continent.