The Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) board awarded a $350,000 grant to support the High Line Canal Conservancy’s (the Conservancy) work to permanently protect the High Line Canal as a regional open space.
The grant is part of GOCO’s Land Acquisition program, which supports urban and rural landscape, waterway, and habitat protection priorities and improves access to the outdoors.
This 71-mile, 860-acre corridor provides valuable recreation access for the Denver-metro region, winding through some of its most diverse communities and connecting neighbors to schools, community centers, and over 8,000 acres of parks and open spaces. The Canal spans communities in Denver, Douglas, Adams, and Arapahoe Counties, passing through a diversity of Front Range ecosystems along the way.
The High Line Canal is in a time of transition as its owner, Denver Water, reduces its reliance on the Canal for irrigation delivery. The Conservancy is planning for its future as a recreational, ecological, historical, and stormwater resource.
“Permanent protection of the Canal has been a top-line goal of ou r board and organization since the beginning in 2014. It’s extremely exciting to be actively working with Denver Water, Arapahoe County and other local governmental partners toward a permanent protection vehicle,” says Harriet Crittenden LaMair, High Line Canal Conservancy CEO.
To date, GOCO has invested $33.6 million in Arapahoe County and partnered to conserve more than 2,200 acres of land there. GOCO funding has supported Cherry Creek State Park, Mary Carter Greenway, South Platte Greenway, Buckley Air Force Buffer, and the Generation Wild community Sheridan Inspire, among other projects.
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 5,600 projects in all 64 counties of Colorado without any tax dollar support. Visit GOCO.org for more information.