Governor Polis Celebrates National Public Lands Day

DENVER - Governor Jared Polis released the following statement to celebrate National Public Lands Day and encourage all Coloradans to take advantage of Colorado’s public land. 

“Colorado’s millions of acres of cherished public land is what makes our state the best destination for outdoor recreation and fun,” said Governor Polis. “From visiting one of Colorado’s prized national parks and monuments to recreating in the vast and diverse acres of Colorado’s national forests, wildlife refuges, parks, and BLM land, the benefits that come from Colorado’s outdoors are endless. This National Public Lands Day, I encourage my fellow Coloradans to offer a day of service or visit and appreciate your local public lands. We must also always be vigilant in protecting our state’s natural beauty and outdoor resources and I encourage everyone to recreate responsibly.”

“Colorado’s public lands are truly our state’s crown jewels.  We are also fortunate within our 42 state parks to have over 4,000 campsites and 58 cabins and yurts located throughout the state for Coloradans to reserve and enjoy,” said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “I would encourage Coloradans on National Public Lands Day and every day to look for opportunities to give back to our public lands either through practicing responsible recreation or volunteering time and resources to sustain and preserve our public lands for generations to come.”

Colorado is home to more than 22 million acres of public lands, ranging from wetlands to forests, canyon landscapes to mountain lakes. Governor Polis is a strong supporter of Colorado’s outdoors and has fulfilled his pledge to double the amount of publicly accessible land trust enrolled in the Public Access Program. 

Just eleven months ago, Governor Polis opened Colorado’s 42nd state park, Fisher’s Peak in Trinidad, and created the Outdoor Regional Partnership Initiative to foster locally-led sustainable conservation and recreation planning. 

This summer, Governor Polis was proud to sign several pieces of legislation that provide more opportunities for Coloradans to go out and recreate, as well as key measures to protect the state’s outdoor beauty. The Keep Colorado Wild Pass, signed by Governor Polis in June, lowers the cost of a state park pass, making recreation outdoors more accessible while increasing the state’s abilities to more sustainably conserve, plan and invest in our public lands for the long term. Governor Polis also signed into law the Outdoor Equity Grant Program in June, which works to increase access and opportunities for underserved youth and their families to enjoy Colorado’s outdoors. 

The Polis-Primavera administration was proud to launch the Colorado Climate Corps in September which will organize a group of AmeriCorps volunteers to address climate change, the impacts from climate change, and improve the overall health and resiliency of public lands.