The purpose of this program is to provide planning assistance to rural Colorado communities looking to develop their outdoor recreation economy. While different communities may be in various stages of developing their outdoor recreation economy, all of those selected would benefit from the creation of a comprehensive and holistic plan that outlines key community goals and targeted action items to advance development. This program also provides graduate students with the opportunity to apply skills and knowledge learned in the classroom to provide partner communities assistance with:

• Comprehensively assessing community assets and strengths through completion of a community self-assessment tool
• Identifying gaps and opportunities for outdoor recreation and Main Street development
• Community visioning and the creation of broad community goals to guide outdoor recreation economy and Main Street development
• Meaningful stakeholder engagement through the facilitation of a two-day, in-person workshop
• Sharing of relevant case study examples on how other communities have developed and invested in their outdoor recreation economy
• Developing partnerships between local, state, and federal offices, programs, and organizations to support outdoor recreation and Main Street development
• Identifying relevant programs, partners, and funding sources to assist with outdoor recreation and Main Street development
• Developing targeted action items and next steps for implementation

The RTAP program is made up of three phases. Phase 1 is the introductory and preparation phase; Phase 2 is centered around community engagement and action planning, and Phase 3 focuses on implementation of the Community Action Plan.

Phase 1 Introduction and community preparation: (mid-September 2024 - mid-January 2025)

Phase 1 is led by Natalie Ooi, Teaching Associate Professor, CU Boulder, and supported by Matt Nuñez, Senior Program Manager, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, and Guinevere Nelson, Douglas County Extension Director, CSU Extension. It consists of:

• An introductory meeting between the facilitation team and community point of contact
• Community steering committee formation (led by community point of contact)
• An introductory planning call with the steering committee, facilitation team, and State partners
• Completion of a community self-assessment (by the steering committee)

By the end of Phase 1, the following will have been achieved:

• Creation of a steering committee that is representative of the local community
• Identification of the dates and location for the in-person community tour and workshop that will be held in the spring
• Completion of the community self-assessment

Phase 2 Community engagement and action planning: (mid-January – early May 2025)

Phase 2 is led by graduate student teams and supported by Natalie Ooi, Matt Nunez, Guinevere Nelson, and other state and federal partners. It consists of:

• Mid-January - Mid-March:
  • 2x planning calls (1.5hrs each) with steering committee and student team to:
    • Identify community goals
    • Prepare and plan for the community tour and workshop 
    • Promote the workshop among community members
• Mid-March: Community tour and workshop:
  • Community tour: Steering committee take the student team and state and federal partners on a tour of key outdoor recreation and supporting assets, areas for development and improvement, and places that communicate the culture and identity of the community.
  • Community workshop: Interactive two-day workshop hosted by the student team
• Mid-March - Early May:
  • 2x post-workshop planning calls with steering committee and student team to:
    • Draft and further develop action items created during the community workshop
    • Mobilize resources and community support for these action items
    • Review drafts of the Community Action Plan
• Mid-May:
  • Final Community Action Plan is delivered to the community
  • Graduate student team present the final Community Action Plan to the steering committee and broader community

By the end of Phase 2, the community will have:

• Completed a two-day, in-person community engagement and planning workshop
• A finalized Community Action Plan
• A presentation of the Community Action Plan

Phase 3 Implementation

Phase 3 is led by Guinevere Nelson, CSU Extension, and supported by Matt Nunez and the OREC office. It consists of two years of support from CSU Extension to help develop a process that prioritizes action items, mobilize resources, and brings community members together to implement the action items outlined within the Community Action Plan. This support will look different for each community, based on the action items developed in the Community Action Plan, as well as the existing capacity, experience and knowledge, and established relationships and partnerships within the community.

Across the two years, CSU Extension will:

• Collaboratively develop a process for action item implementation with the community point-of-contact
• Organize and lead regular meetings with the community point-of-contact to check in on progress made towards implementing action items from the Community Action Plan
• Do outreach to the community leads assigned to different action items and provide assistance where relevant and possible
• Connect the community with relevant experts and resources to assist the community implement action items

By the end of Phase 3, the community will have:

• Received guidance and support from CSU Extension to assist with the implementation of the Community Action Plan
• Completed, or be in the process of completing, specific action items detailed in the Community Action Plan

There is a broad range of eligibility for interested communities. Please see the following criteria and contact Matt Nuñez, matthew.nunez@state.co.us, with any questions.

• Be located in rural Colorado
  • This is intentionally left up to interpretation, but communities located in metropolitan areas may be ruled ineligible at the discretion of the program support team.
• Have support from town/city officials to implement the finished Community Action Plan
• Be able to convene a steering committee of community leaders who can commit to monthly meetings via Zoom and in-person workshop attendance
• Have a foundation of outdoor recreation opportunities to capitalize on (e.g., local trail system, retail shops, river access, etc.)

Consideration will be given for regional or county-wide projects, but preference may be given to individual communities.

We have selected our communities for the 2024-25 cohort. Applications for 2025-26 will open in Summer 2025. 

Applicants will be asked to provide a brief narrative of community needs and outdoor recreation assets. Additionally, a letter of support from a local government official will be required for consideration.

You can view the finished community action plans from the communities in which we’ve worked by using the links below.

Spring 2023:

• Cripple Creek
• Hayden
• Leadville

Spring 2024:

• Huerfano County
• Lake City
• Rangely/Dinosaur

Being that RTAP is modeled after the RERC planning process, it is reasonable to ask which program will be right for your community. The RERC program is highly competitive with interest from communities nationwide. Here in Colorado, Glenwood Springs and Monte Vista have participated in RERC in the past. Seeing the need for additional planning support across the state, OREC developed the RTAP program in partnership with CU-Boulder's Masters of the Environment (MENV) program to provide planning assistance to communities not selected for RERC in 2020 or 2023. This year, we are opening RTAP to any interested community, but RERC applicants who do not receive an EPA award will be automatically considered for the 2026 RTAP cohort. Three communities will be invited to participate in RTAP each year; RERC does not have a minimum or maximum number of Colorado communities to be selected.

The deliverables of both processes are the same, but RERC is a longer process spanning roughly 9 months of steering committee meetings including an in-person, 2.5 day workshop. By comparison, the RTAP process spans roughly six months (Spring educational semester) and includes a 1.5 day workshop. For RERC, the EPA hires a team of professional consultants to coordinate steering committee and workshop meetings. Through RTAP, MENV graduate students serve in this role. An additional benefit of RTAP is free support provided by the CSU Extension up to two years following the published Community Action Plan. 

If you apply for RERC, you should have a clear idea of the assets, challenges, opportunities, and threats facing your community and its outdoor recreation economy. Furthermore, you should have strong buy-in from community members who can set aside their differences enough to engage in conversations about the future of their town. Applications that do not demonstrate buy-in from community leaders (particularly local government) are not likely to succeed.

The same considerations apply for RTAP, but this program operates better for communities that may be "starting from scratch" in considering outdoor recreation as a potential economic driver. Furthermore, RTAP is a better fit for communities that are ready to begin these discussions in the next six months. In the past, RERC has begun work roughly one year after application deadlines. There is no cost for either program.

If you intend to apply for RERC, please connect with our office at your convenience. 

If you have any further questions, please contact Matt Nuñez at matthew.nunez@state.co.us to discuss further!

This Rural Technical Assistance Program was developed as the result of an innovative partnership between OEDIT, CU-Boulder, CSU Extension, and the EPA Office of Community Revitalization.

In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Community Revitalization launched the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) program to provide planning assistance to small towns and rural communities to help them boost their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their main streets.

Glenwood Springs, Colorado was one of ten communities selected to participate in the pilot program in 2020. Monte Vista, Colorado participated in the second round of RERC in 2023.

During the Monte Vista workshop, partners from OEDIT and CU Boulder began to brainstorm ways in which this programming could be expanded to additional Colorado communities. The MENV program was the natural fit for this project, pairing graduate students with communities in need to provide free consulting and technical assistance. In 2024, the CSU Extension joined OEDIT and CU Boulder to provide implementation consulting services.

Additional support and guidance for this program has been generously provided by the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.