The Colorado Regional Partnership Initiative [RPI] was established in 2020 to create a network of partner organizations to help plan and implement Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy and Framework through a place-based and regional lens. The network now covers nearly 80% of the state and Custer County's newly formed Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors [WMVO] non-profit is the 21st and latest partner in the network.
Funding for the RPI comes from Colorado Parks & Wildlife [CPW] and GOCO (the lottery fund) and in 2025 Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors was awarded a grant to begin the process of community outreach to create a Custer County based long-term plan for restoration, conservation, and outdoor recreation in the region. GOCO has committed $50 million over the next five years to fund the initiative.
Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy aims to achieve the following outcomes:
LEARN MORE ABOUT WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY OUTDOORS in this informative and insightful Valley Views Interview with John Van Doren, President of the WMVO Board, and hosted by KLZR's Gary Taylor.
SAVE THE DATE: 4th WMVO COMMUNITY MEETING: January 20, 2026 at 5:30 - 7:30pm at Lange Hall (312 S 3rd St in Westcliffe). Come early at 5:15pm for light refreshments and mingling. Meeting objectives/agenda and RSVP link will be posted in late December.
We were thrilled that over 100 people attended the first Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors Community Meeting on August 6th. Download the meeting summary including the initial findings of the short survey, the results of the polling we did on vision statements, as well as the slides and meeting recording.
Nearly 80 people attended the second Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors Community Meeting on September 8th. You can download the meeting summary where attendees workshopped the polling done to implement vision statements, as well as the slides and meeting recording.
79 people attended the third Wet Mountain Valley Outdoors Community Meeting on October 8th. You can download the meeting summary where attendees sorted out what’s working/what needs improvement, as well as the slides and meeting recording. Want to join an Action Team, click here!
The Colorado Outdoor Partnership Outdoor Principles
