We've made a lot of
history in three decades.
And we're just
getting warmed up.
Photo by Caveman Collective.
GOCO's origins are unique because our state is. And Coloradans value what we have. So much so that it's hard to summarize the impacts of hundreds of partners on local communities in every corner of Colorado in a simple series of events plotted along a timeline. Between the gaps are thousands of wins for our great outdoors.
Citizens committee
gets together
Gov. Roy Romer and Dept. of Natural Resources Executive Director Ken Salazar form a citizens committee, which consisted of conservation, business and political leaders from across Colorado, to answer this question: What should we do to sustain and enhance our outdoor resources—parks, trails, wildlife, and open space—for the future?
Votes are counted
After an extensive public process, the committee proposes establishing a trust fund to invest in the future of Colorado's outdoors. An initiative, which would redirect up to half of Lottery proceeds each year, is placed on the ballot, and on Nov. 3, is approved with 58% of voters in favor.
Mega achievement:
Greenland Ranch
One of GOCO's most iconic investments to date—in the conservation of Greenland Ranch—materializes in July. The land protection effort by partners The Conservation Fund, Douglas County, and the landowner permanently safeguarded 17,000+ acres between Denver and Colorado Springs along the I-25 corridor.
Thinking bigger
With our 2010 strategic plan, GOCO pivots to take a more collaborative role with partners and support highly impactful projects. The plan launches initiatives that lay the groundwork for the approach that guides our grantmaking to this day.
Protect. Connect. Inspire.
Building on the 2010 foundation, the 2015 strategic plan launches special initiatives that help conserve more than 130,000 acres of high-priority land; build 57 miles of regional trails; and create the Generation Wild movement.
Trampe Ranch stuns
A Gunnison County ranch with some of Colorado's most iconic scenery and contributing 20% of the county's agricultural production is awarded GOCO's largest-ever, single transaction grant in the amount of $10 million. The conservation project was decades in the making.
Colorado Lottery reauthorized
The bill to extend the Lottery Division within Colorado's Dept. of Revenue is signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper. A coalition of hundreds of towns, cities, counties and special districts, local businesses, and nonprofits propelled the bill's passage, supporting the state's ongoing investment of Lottery proceeds in Colorado's great outdoors.
Meet Wilder
Generation Wild, GOCO's communications campaign supporting the youth-and-outdoors movement, debuts Wilder. Half-goat, half-yeti, and all friend, Wilder becomes an unforgettable symbol for outdoor play.
Crazy French Ranch and
its iconic peak
In October, Colorado Parks and Wildlife opens Fishers Peak State Park, formerly Crazy French Ranch, near the Colorado-New Mexico Border. GOCO invested more than $17 million in the acquisition of the 19,200-acre property that contains the local identifier Fishers Peak.
Bringing a mission into a new era
A fresh strategic plan launches to promote equity and diversity in the outdoors, advance projects with the potential to transform communities, and protect Colorado's treasured outdoors for future generations.
Get to Know GOCO
We're proud to invest in our state's parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces.