Park visitor numbers during the pandemic

• Thousands have headed outdoors: John Meyer, “Bear Creek Lake Park closing its swim beach, marina due to crowds,” The Denver Post 7 May 2020.

• March and April visitation: Danika Worthington, “Colorado state parks just became the coolest kid in school — but my mom was right, popularity isn’t all that,” The Denver Post, 26 May 2020.

• Visitation increase in northeast region: John Meyer, “Colorado’s public land managers are trying to figure out how to handle an explosion of people going to parks,” The Denver Post, 4 June 2020.

• Boulder Creek land closure: City of Boulder, “Amended Emergency Order closing the area near Eben G. Fine Park.”

• State park beaches and other closures: Allison Sylte, “City closes stretch along Boulder Creek after photos show large groups congregating there,” 9 News, 19 May 2020. 

• Bear Creek Lake Park closures: John Meyer, “Bear Creek Lake Park closing its swim beach, marina due to crowds,” The Denver Post 7 May 2020.

Access to the outdoors requires funding public lands

• Surging demand and new challenges for public lands: John Meyer, “Colorado’s public land managers are trying to figure out how to handle an explosion of people going to parks,” The Denver Post, 4 June 2020. Danika Worthington, “Colorado state parks just became the coolest kid in school — but my mom was right, popularity isn’t all that,” The Denver Post, 26 May 2020.  

• Inadequate tax revenue and damage from overuse: Danika Worthington, “Front Range open spaces plead with visitors to stop destroying parks, trails,” The Denver Post, 30 April 2020; lost revenue from campsite closures: Danika Worthington, “Colorado state parks just became the coolest kid in school — but my mom was right, popularity isn’t all that,” The Denver Post, 26 May 2020. 

• New infrastructure. E.g., Colorado Parks & Wildlife, “Cherry Creek and Chatfield State Parks to resume staffing entrance stations,” Press Release, 11 April 2020.

LWCF has protected some of Colorado’s most treasured places

• $270 million+ in LWCF grants; 1,000+ LWCF state side grants totaling $63 million+; Trails in Lory and Cheyenne Mountain State Parks and land acquisitions at Roxborough, Golden Gate Canyon and Boyd Lake State Parks: LWCF Coalition, “Our land, our water, our heritage,” 2018. 

• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park: Outdoor Industry Association, “#ICanSeeLWCF from Colorado,” 2015.

• State and local park projects: Colorado Parks & Wildlife, “Land and Water Conservation Fund.”

To expand access to the outdoors, fully fund the Land & Water Conservation Fund

• Carol Hardy Vincent, Congressional Research Service, Land and Water Conservation Fund: Overview, Funding History, and Issues, June 2019.

• State side grants: U.S. National Park Service, “Land and Water Conservation Fund: State and Local Grant Funding.”

• The Wilderness Society, Land and Water Conservation Fund.

• Colorado’s annual LWCF state side grant allocation: Colorado Parks & Wildlife, “Land and Water Conservation Fund.”

Funding for parks supports our outdoor economy

Consumer spending, jobs and tax revenue: LWCF Coalition, “Our land, our water, our heritage,” 2018.