Colorado's Outdoors Strategy

Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy is a statewide vision that elevates common goals, amplifies regionally rooted efforts, provides data and tools to inform local decision making, and advances coordinated, statewide strategies and funding for conservation, outdoor recreation and climate resilience.

Coloradans love the outdoors. According to the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), 92% of Coloradans recreate in the outdoors at least once every few weeks. Thriving natural environments and amazing outdoor experiences are a key part of what makes Colorado special. The health of Colorado’s wildlife and people depend on them. 

The outdoors in Colorado face pressures from growing populations, increased visitation and a variety of human uses of the landscape, in addition to increased temperatures, droughts, wildfires and floods. According to the State of the Rockies, 67% of Coloradans have noticed significant effects from climate change over the past ten years. State leaders and agencies are developing Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy to create a unified state vision to address these collective challenges and plan for the future.

This collaborative effort is stewarded by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and developed in partnership with Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Colorado Governor’s Office. Representatives from local and state governments, conservation nonprofits, regional partnerships, recreation interests, Tribal Nations and federal agencies form the steering committee that advises on the development of Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy.

Key consultants supporting the development of Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy include Keystone Policy Center, SE Group, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, the University of Colorado-Boulder graduate program in Environmental Studies (MENV), Mending Mountains Collective, GFM|CenterTable and equity, diversity and inclusion experts.