Last week, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe received a grant from the Great Outdoors Colorado board for $150,000. The grant will go toward developing a “recreation master plan,” which would include engaging community activities, a news release from Great Outdoors Colorado said.
This project will work toward developing and improving the recreation infrastructure in Towaoc by assessing existing outdoor recreation and finding “opportunities for future outdoor amenities.”
The grant comes from the Great Outdoors Colorado Planning and Capacity Program, which is focused on “projects that address opportunities, explore issues, engage communities, and examine trends in the outdoors,” the news release stated.
The goals of the project align with a recent housing plan and the new Education Master Plan for the Kwiyagat Community Academy, a charter school that opened in Towaoc in 2021.
The Ute Mountain Ute Recreation Department will lead the project, and members of the Kwiyagat Community Academy and the Ute Mountain Ute Planning and Economic Development Department will lend their support.
Dan Porter, principal of Kwiyagat Community Academy, said that a main goal of the academy is wellness, especially physical wellness. The academy implements land-based learning, so working with the recreation department and being part of the grant makes sense for the community.
“We are just supporting this grant with the idea that a lot of what we’re developing for our school is happening right now, and by tying them together with recreation and the Tribe, we are able to work together, and we are able to do more with less money,” Porter told a Journal reporter.
The possibility of an outdoor amphitheater being built “where kids can do performances and elders can teach” has been discussed, Porter said.
An advisory team will be formed as the planning of the project commences.
“When we’re planning these things out, we’ll do it together, bringing different departments together. The whole idea is transparency and making sure that everybody has a voice,” Porter stated.
Four new jobs will be funded with the grant: a part-time liaison and three “community connectors” will be hired.
Great Outdoors Colorado has invested $13.6 million in Montezuma County projects, as well as “partnered to conserve more than 5,300 acres of land there,” the news release said. Projects that have received funding from the organization include the Joe Rowell Community Playground and the Cortez South Neighborhood Park.
According to last week’s news release, Great Outdoors Colorado’s funding comes in part from Colorado Lottery proceeds “to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces.”
For more information, visit GOCO.org.
