As population pressure mounts, Front Range land managers release vision statement

DENVER — Public lands managers with tight budgets need more funding to cope with the impacts of Front Range population growth, and recreation lovers should be encouraged to become better stewards of those lands, according to a vision statement issued last Wednesday by a task force coordinating efforts to address pressures arising from surging visitation.

NoCo Places, a coalition of public lands managers in the northern Front Range that was formed in 2019, set out specific goals and management principles in a 16-page “Conservation and Recreation Vision” statement resulting from monthly meetings held over the past five years. NoCo members include representatives from Rocky Mountain National Park, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and five counties east of the Continental Divide.

“The state demographer says by 2050, the state’s going to grow to 7.48 million, and 6.3 million will be living along the Front Range,” said NoCo Places executive director Steve Coffin. “That’s why this vision is so important. The Front Range mountains and foothills are going to feel the brunt of that. It’s important that we have a vision for how the future of this region will be managed. This problem is only going to get more challenging.”

The vision statement outlines areas where federal, state and county land managers can collaborate in creating common approaches to the challenges.

“The status quo,” the vision document says, “is no longer sufficient.”

One of NoCo Place’s goals is to build more community support “for increased funding for public land management.” Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, has a deferred maintenance backlog of $200 million, according to the park’s public affairs officer, Kyle Patterson.

“It’s not just Rocky, it’s the forest...