State, regional partners urge Colorado Springs to back Pikes Peak outdoor strategy as $50 million fund opens

Colorado Springs City Council members heard a progress update Monday, May 12, 2025, on the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance’s Regional Outdoor Pikes Peak initiative and the statewide Colorado Outdoor Strategy, with state and local leaders asking the council to back the plan and consider local funding to compete for implementation grants.

The update, presented by Connor Hall of the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry and Becky Lineweber, executive director of the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance (PPORA), outlined a multiyear vision plan for El Paso, Teller and Fremont counties and described a new GOCO-led implementation fund. Hall said the strategy “drives partnerships and collaboration,” and urged local leaders to support the regional partnership’s work.

The nut of the proposal is a draft vision plan PPORA released the week before the meeting and opened to public comment through June 1. Lineweber told council members the PPORA plan identifies priorities, data tools and a proposed regional management model intended to make conservation and recreation planning more coordinated across jurisdictions. She said the plan’s release positions the region to apply for implementation grants from a recently announced $50,000,000 funding pool created by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). “GoCo…have put together an incredible amount of funding,” Lineweber said. "It's part of their five‑year strategic plan…40,000,000 of that is for implementation."

PPORA staff described the partnership’s work since 2021: compiling nearly 100 local planning documents into a public data hub, running broad public and stakeholder outreach, developing project criteria and identifying 30 projects and initiatives for future work. The alliance also reported an assessment of alternative governance models for Pikes Peak and said the task force narrowed several models to a preferred approach that would consolidate some recreation management functions under a lead entity — Colorado Parks and Wildlife was identified in the work as a potential fit for that lead role.

Lineweber and PPORA board members said the region already has state-level political backing: land managers signed a letter of intent and Governor Polis has publicly supported a collaborative management model for Pikes Peak. Lineweber said she has discussed grant details with CPW and GOCO staff and that while GOCO has not finalized match requirements, “they do want to see that local partners are invested and that means dollars.” That prompted several council members to ask for specifics about how local governments and the city should demonstrate support; Lineweber said the region will need a mix of local investment, letters of support and in‑kind commitments and that funding awards are expected to be decided by the GOCO board later this year.

PPORA board chair Jeff Mosier and board member Toby Gannett said the nonprofit has convened private, public and nonprofit partners and is ready to help coordinate local investments. Chris Olney of Colorado Springs Utilities, speaking as a land manager, said the process had improved communication among managers responsible for utilities, watersheds and recreation: “How can we work together on those strategies and those needs for recreation and come together with solutions,” he said.

The presenters stressed the timing: Lineweber said the GoCo grant application window opens this summer and PPORA plans to apply in August, with GoCo decisions expected at board meetings in December. She urged council members to use available local tools — including lodging tax or other local funding — to help the region’s application be competitive. Lineweber noted the fund will be competitive and that early applicants from the Pikes Peak region will have an advantage while other regional partnerships across the state ramp up their plans.

Why it matters: the Pikes Peak region is growing, and PPORA’s plan ties tourism, conservation and climate resilience planning to keep recreational lands accessible and sustainable. The state funding creates a time‑limited opportunity for local governments to co‑invest and influence which regional projects get implemented first.

Lineweber closed by asking council to consider local leadership, policy support and financial commitments that would strengthen the region’s grant application. The plan remains in draft form and is open to public comment through June 1; staff said they will return with more details on grant strategy as GoCo publishes application rules.