“I am excited to sign this Executive Order that, building upon the work that’s already been done in our state, will take an eyes-wide-open and locally rooted approach to ensuring we remain a world-class outdoor destination while preserving our land, water, wildlife, and quality of life … this Executive Order will help create a long-term statewide vision and plan to provide all Coloradans with sustainable and equitable access to outdoor recreation, while accounting for the many factors that impact our landscapes, water and wildlife, including climate change.”
— Governor Jared Polis
PURPOSE
The Regional Partnerships Initiative (RPI) is a network of regionally based coalitions known as “Regional Partnerships” bringing together broad interests to advance conservation and outdoor recreation priorities for their area. Collectively, Regional Partnerships learn from and elevate community-level perspectives, values, and priorities to inform planning and projects across the state. As of early 2024, 18 Regional Partnerships cover about 70% of Colorado's geographic area. With future grant cycles, this Intiative hopes to grow membership with coalitions covering the entire state.
Each Regional Partnership convenes broad outdoor interests with consideration for including tourism, recreation, wildlife, equitable access to outdoor recreation and nature, water quality, habitat health, cultural resources, and more. Many of the Regional Partnerships provide much-needed data and landscape-level perspectives for communities to use in short-term and long-term planning processes. The Colorado Outdoor Partnership (CO-OP) follows the Colorado Outdoor Principles and serves as the statewide advisory body for the Regional Partnerships Initiative. Established in October 2020 by Governor’s Executive Order B 2020 008, the goals of the Regional Partnerships Initiative are outlined in the Executive Order as follows:
● Ensure that Colorado's land, water, and wildlife thrive while also providing equitable and safe access to quality outdoor recreation experiences;
● Convene voices from different outdoor interests, races, cultures, ages, and sectors through Regional Partnerships to identify regional priorities and strategies;
● Collaborate to develop a State-level vision and plan for conservation and recreation that will inform future investments to conserve Colorado's landscapes, rivers, wildlife, sensitive habitats, and recreational opportunities.
GOALS
UPDATES
Participating Regional Partnerships and updates
Check out the StoryMap for the full RPI background.
Review the 2025 Annual Report on the Regional Partnerships Initiative to see grant recipients from past grant cycles, project updates, and progress, and overall information about the implementation of this initiative.
Review an in-depth landscape analysis and program evaluation of the Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships Initiative as well as a summative review of the initiative.
Canyons & Plains Outdoor Partnership
Northeast Colorado Regional Partnership Initiative
Northwest Colorado Outdoors
Southwest Colorado Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable
Spanish Peaks Outdoor Coalition
Central Colorado Outdoor Partnership:
Envision Recreation in Balance Partnership (Chaffee County)
Lake County Outdoor Coalition (Lake County)
Mountain Communities Outdoor Collective
Eagle County Regional Partnership Initiative
Success Story of the Month: Shrikes and Bikes
On June 6, Colorado’s inaugural Prairie Day, the Eastern Colorado Grasslands Coalition (ECGC) held a scenic gravel cycling experience through Lincoln County’s shortgrass prairie and the working lands it sustains. This event, called Shrikes and Bikes, brought together 75 cyclists who connected with community members, observed prairie wildlife, learned from local agricultural producers, and experienced historic preservation sites along the way.
One aid station was held at the fourth generation, family-run Homestead Farms, where riders had the unique opportunity to speak with the owners about the unique considerations of dryland farming in this semi-arid region. Shrikes and Bikes reflected the strong partnerships formed by the ECGC and demonstrated how stewardship is championed by the communities who call the prairie home.
As part of the Regional Partnerships Initiative, the ECGC helps advance Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy and its vision for a future where our outdoors, people, community character and ways of life endure for generations to come. The next Shrikes and Bikes event is scheduled for June 4-5, 2027.
Photo courtesy of Abe Medina, Colorado State Land Board