Regional Plan Draft

This project is a county-wide initiative designed to strengthen community understanding, appreciation, and long-term support for Custer County’s agricultural and ranching heritage. Using a three-pronged approach—outreach, on-site education, and media/storytelling—the project connects directly with the people, practices, and history that define local working lands.

This project strengthens long-term land and water protection in Custer County by partnering with Colorado Open Lands (COL), Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust(CCALT), and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to proactively engage ranchers and property owners in exploring conservation easements. 

This project drives the work that emerges from the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process by coordinating OEM, BOCC, FACO, WMVO, and key partners—including ARWC, local fire districts (WMVFPD, Wetmore, Rye), USFS, Colorado State Fire, NRCS and CSFS—to turn CWPP-identified priorities into actionable, funded projects. 

This project seeks to create, establish, and sustain a long-term, community-centered agricultural food hub that brings local foods to local tables and strengthens the region’s agricultural heritage. Envisoned as a dynamic place where ranchers, growers, producers, restaurants, and residents connect around locally-sourced food. 

This project aims to research, define, and advance forest health strategies that best support diverse wildlife and plant communities while improving overall ecosystem resilience. By collaborating with local, state, and federal partners, the effort will establish clear county-level goals.

This project is a science-driven effort to evaluate Grape Creek and Lake DeWeese watershed conditions, establish consistent water-quality baselines, and identify opportunities to improve overall system functionality without harming the agricultural and ranching community.

This project seeks to improve the natural movement of water from higher-elevation drainages to the Wet Mountain Valley floor to sustain aquifer recharge and strengthen irrigation reliability for agricultural lands. The work focuses on removing barriers while maintaining and enhancing existing streamflow.

This project creates a unified, countywide fire mitigation system that empowers property owners to reduce wildfire risk through consistent, science-based assessments, defensible-space creation, home hardening, and ongoing education. 

This project is a county-wide effort to strengthen community pride, celebrate Custer County’s unique character, and elevate its heritage assets across Westcliffe, Silver Cliff, San Isabel, and Wetmore. 

This project creates a unified, long-range plan to evaluate and improve the entire trail network for all user types, addressing safety, maintenance, access, and environmental preservation. It includes a county-wide audit to identify priority repair needs and updates; establishing partnerships with state agencies and local trail-building nonprofits.

This project is a community-centered effort to expand water literacy and strengthen watershed health across Custer County. The project focuses on education around water quality science and policy, including forest and wildlife health, septic system function and zoning, nutrient loading, pollution, and broader environmental impacts tied to land use. 

This project is a county-wide initiative led in partnership with the Custer County Weed Board, the Custer County Conservation District, CSU Extension, NRCS, ranchers, grazers, and cross-county collaborators to reduce noxious weeds, restore native ecosystems, and strengthen long-term land stewardship.