Jefferson County nets $543,102 in GOCO grants for projects - Evergreen Lake

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
9/24/20

Contacts: 

Rosemary Dempsey, 303-226-4530, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Victoria Nava-Watson, 303-226-4531, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Lauren Lecy, 303-226-4507, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jefferson County nets $543,102 in GOCO grants for projects at Evergreen Lake, Prospect Park, Lower Church Lake Open Space

DENVER- The GOCO board awarded three grants totaling $543,102 for three projects in Jefferson County. Evergreen Park & Recreation District (EPRD) received a $258,000 grant to manage recreation and resource needs at Evergreen Lake. Additionally, the City of Wheat Ridge received a $162,970 grant to complete a fishing area at Prospect Park. Finally, the City of Westminster received a $122,132 grant to build and improve trails at Lower Church Lake Open Space.

These grants are part of GOCO’s Resilient Communities program, which helps grantee partners advance outdoor recreation, stewardship, and land protection work. Funded projects will respond to one-time, immediate needs or opportunities that have emerged in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic all within the context of GOCO’s five program values: resource conservation, outdoor stewardship, community vitality, equitable access, and youth connections to the outdoors.

With its funding, EPRD will address critical stewardship needs at Evergreen Lake, including trail improvements, erosion control, and other maintenance. Since the pandemic began, recreation at the lake has more than doubled, while simultaneously, EPRD needed to lay off 150 employees.

This dramatic increase in users combined with limited staff capacity has created several maintenance issues, including new social trails, shoreline erosion, and improper day-use areas. EPRD will rehire an Evergreen Lake manager, an outdoor specialist and several park maintenance and stewardship staff to address these new areas of need. Funding will also support the final design of a lake-level perimeter trail, which will begin construction next year.

The City of Wheat Ridge will use its GOCO grant to complete designed work on a fishing area at Prospect Park. The new fishing area will include a permanent dock, a shade shelter, two picnic tables, fencing, pathways, and trash receptacles. These amenities will improve fishing opportunities and alleviate the damage to the area caused by unregulated access.

“This project has been a top priority since the City was awarded a GOCO grant for park renovations in 2018. However, due to multiple factors, funding was not available to complete this project on the original timeline,” said Karen O’Donnell, director of Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation. “We are very excited that this grant will enhance the fishing area, and provide a safe, direct, and accessible outdoor recreation opportunity to users of all ages.”

Finally, the City of Westminster will add trails at Lower Church Lake Open Space with the help of GOCO funding. Since April, recreation across Westminster has quadrupled, increasing the need for additional trails for hikers to be able to socially distance. Additionally, the Lower Church property was used as a staging site during a recent Highway 36 project, and the damaged natural resources require restoration.

The City will build 1.8 miles of new trail, add a pollinator garden, and install new interpretive signage throughout the property. Other maintenance will include removing 300 feet of barbed wire fence, mitigating invasive species, and repainting a historic silo and barn. To complete this work, the City will employ youth crews through TEENS, Inc. and Mile High Youth Corps and engage its volunteer network.

To date, GOCO has invested more than $48.2 million in projects in Jefferson County and conserved more than 6,000 acres of land there. GOCO funding has supported Clement Park Inclusive Destination Playground, the Peaks to Plains Trail, Staunton State Park, and Bear Creek Greenbelt, 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 5,300 projects in all 64 counties of Colorado without any tax dollar support. Visit GOCO.org for more information.