Taking Care of our Public Lands with the Chaffee Rec Adopters

Did you know Chaffee County is 80% public lands, split between the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks & Wildlife? With the increase of recreation and residential impact, a group of concerned citizens and local non-profit and agency leaders (including GARNA) came together in 2016 to develop Envision Chaffee County and the Chaffee Rec Council to support forest health, healthy wildlife, sustained agriculture, clean water and balanced recreation growth. The Chaffee Rec Plan was developed by the Rec Council to help guide and manage the impact of the growth of outdoor use.

The Chaffee Rec Adopters are a collaborative group of volunteers that take care of our public lands that was birthed from the Chaffee Rec Plan. A partnership between Envision Chaffee County, GARNA, Chaffee County, USFS, BLM and CPW and other local groups, the Chaffee Rec Adopters program enlists volunteers to be effective stewards of our outdoor resources.

In the 2023 season, we hosted 18 events with 264 volunteers working with our local land management agencies. Events included dispersed campsite cleanup, designated dispersed campsite installation, fence removal, sign installation and wetland restoration for a total of 1,071 hours!

Check Out the Slideshow Here

We have a lot in store for 2024. If you are interested in getting involved as a Chaffee Rec Adopter, connect with Jessica at landvolunteers@garna.org!

The Chaffee Rec Adopters are funded by Chaffee County, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Chaffee County Visitors Bureau.