Friends Park next to the Alamosa Boys and Girls Club is one of the many San Luis Valley recipients of Great Outdoors Colorado money from lottery ticket sales.

GOCO

develops

strategic plan



By RUTH HEIDE

ALAMOSA — San Luis Valley residents’ lottery “investments” have brought returns in the form of preserved open spaces, playgrounds, parks and trails.

During the 15-year history of one of the recipients of lottery ticket sales, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Valley has received $28 million for a variety of projects ranging from Creede Recreation Park on one end of the Valley to Costilla County open space on the other.

Every county in the Valley’s six-county region has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last decade and a half.

Saguache County’s share of GOCO funds during that time tops the Valley list at more than $8 million followed by more than $5 million each in Alamosa and Rio Grande Counties, $1.3 million in Costilla County, more than $400,000 in Conejos County and nearly $230,000 in Mineral County.

Projects have included: Hooper Park; Zapata Falls; South Side Community Park in Alamosa; King Ranch Preservation Project; Twin Lakes Trail; Manassa Fairgrounds; Antonito Public Park; Sanford Park; Romeo Sports Complex; Will Stegar Project in Costilla County; Sierra Grande Playground Project; El Parque-A Village Park in San Luis; Fort Garland Community Park; Costilla Open Space; Creede Recreation Park; Wright Ranch Preservation Project; Creede Skate Park; Wolf Creek Pass Project; River Valley Ranch; McNeil Ranch; Del Norte Area Trails Master Plan; Natural Wonders of the San Luis Valley Play Park in Monte Vista; South Fork Rio Grande Park; Native Aquatic Species Facility; Saguache County Closed Basin Biological Inventory; Crestone Peak Trail; Irby Ranch; and Center Park.

Some projects such as the Hooper Town Park received less than $10,000 while others like the Costilla County Open Space project topped half a million.

Eric Bergman, GOCO director of government relations & outreach, said GOCO receives up to half of the lottery proceeds which last year amounted to $54 million. With those proceeds, GOCO board and staff provide grants for various purposes such as playgrounds, parks, trails, planning, state parks programs, Colorado Division of Wildlife programs such as watch-able wildlife facilities and legacy grants that are multijurisdictional providing multiple uses such as habitat, trails and open space.

Unlike other GOCO programs, legacy grants are distributed every two to three years. The Valley’s first legacy grant recipient was the Gilmore Ranch in 2007. That grant incorporated efforts by multiple agencies such as Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust and GOCO, Bergman explained.

Members of GOCO staff and board including Rio Grande County resident Karla Shriver, the only Valley representative on the statewide board, held a public session in Alamosa this week to receive local residents’ input regarding GOCO future priorities. GOCO will have a new strategic plan in place by next spring as a result of such public meetings around the state.

Shriver represents the 3rd Congressional District as well as agricultural interests on the GOCO board.

“It’s been working with community partners throughout Colorado that we have been able to do a lot of amazing things,” Shriver said.

Almost everyone who spoke to the GOCO representatives this week in Alamosa said land protection is one of the top local priorities and benefits of GOCO.

Nature Conservancy Director Paul Robertson said, “Obviously land protection has been very important in this Valley in creating sustainable rural communities, sustaining a way of life that the local people are very much behind ... Land protection is critically important.”

He said open spaces will become even more important in the future as Colorado’s population grows. That is why it is so vital to preserve open space now, he said.

Costilla County Commissioner Crestina Martinez said in her county where 97 percent of the land is privately owned land protection is extremely important.

Alamosan Don Thompson listed land protection as a top priority not only for this generation but also for future generations.

Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) Director Nancy Butler added that preserving existing ranches and farms for agricultural purposes is vital to the Valley’s economy because the economy here is dependent on agriculture.

Educator Judy Lopez agreed that land protection is important to this area for a number of reasons including wildlife protection and educational opportunities, her specialty.

Lopez said she serves 7,800 children a year, plus many teachers, through her environmental education efforts. They actually visit working ranches and farms. She said education is the key to the next generation preserving these areas.

Rio de la Vista, RiGHT and San Luis Valley Wetlands Focus Area Committee, said water protection is a big part of land protection in the Valley. Keeping historic water rights on the land is crucial for wildlife habitat and agriculture, she said.

Liza Marron, Saguache County Sustainable Environment and Economic Development, echoed the need for land protection. She said this is also important form a psychological perspective, as some children now are being diagnosed with Nature Deficit Disorder.

Monte Vista City Councilman Gabriel Duran said parks are also important to his community.

“I see a lot of kids that are skating on sidewalks,” he said.

Donna Rhoads, president of Salida are Parks Open space & Trails (SPOT), said trails have been important to the Salida community which is now extending its efforts outside the city into the nearby hills. The trails serve many purposes, she explained. Youth can ride their bicycles to school, for example, and increase their physical activity.

Rio de la Vista asked if GOCO funding was facing any threats, given the state’s current economic condition.

GOCO Board Chairman Norma Anderson said lottery revenues, like everything else, are “on the table,” but legislators would have to go through an election to get them because they are governed by a state constitutional amendment.

Anderson said she was concerned about the lack of knowledge among the general population about where the money goes when they buy lottery tickets. The participants in this week’s meeting in Alamosa recommended better and/or bigger signage at the sites that had received funds through GOCO.

Marron suggested that GOCO recipients could be featured on the lottery tickets themselves. For example, a lottery ticket winner could be three “Gilmore Ranches” in a row.

The Valley residents attending the GOCO meeting this week said although there never is enough funding they are grateful for the amount of money that Valley projects have received and said the GOCO money has enabled them to leverage more funds from other sources.