Responsible Recreation With Pets
With the first day of spring right around the corner and warmer days on the horizon, so many are feeling the urge to get outside with special buddies for longer walks and hikes.
That's why this month, we hope you'll join us in encouraging residents and visitors alike to practice responsible recreation with their pets. As we know, few things irritate outdoor stewards more than seeing wildlife disrupted by unleashed dogs or finding a poop bag on a favorite trail.
Feel free to share the CTO's hilarious "Etiquette of Poop" video, which tackles this topic head on with, yes, step-by-step instructions. And throughout this month, you can draw upon a collection of blogs contributed by your fellow Care for Colorado Coalition partners and members, shared below.
We hope you'll join us in making sure that even more outdoor enthusiasts are good to go this spring on hikes with furry friends, while keeping wildlife safe and our outdoors pristine.
Help Us Share
Below is a collection of resources about responsible recreation with pets from our coalition partners. Please feel free to share these assets on your own channels — just be sure to credit the partner organization and link back to their site.
Blogs & Articles
- Leave No Trace: How To Be A Responsible Pet Owner
- Leave No Trace: Why We Should All Pack Out Our Dog's Poo
- Leave No Trace Research: Visitor Behaviors and Perceptions of Proper Disposal of Pet Waste on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Lands
- CTO: Winter Vacation With Your Dog
- Blog from Colorado Cross Country Ski Association
- CPW: Bring the Dog Along
- CPW: Dog Etiquette
#CareforColorado Social Posts
Use one of these ready-made social posts or share these captions with your own photos or videos. Be sure to tag @leavenotracecenter and @visitcolorado in your posts.
- Remember there is no such thing as the poop fairy! #CareforColorado and pick up dog waste and pack it out to a trash can.
- Enjoying the outdoors with furry friends is a great way to get you and your pet some exercise! Winter can be a sensitive time for wildlife. A leash can help your dog stay a safe distance from wildlife and other visitors. #CareforColorado #LeaveNoTrace
And share this post from Leave No Trace's Instagram.
Etiquette of Poop Video
Get the link to share the Etiquette of Poop >>
How to Share
Check out these tips and suggestions on how you can share Care for Colorado assets. Remember the more places visitors see these message, the more likely they are to put these practices into action.
- On social channels
- On websites
- In e-blasts
- In a signature box
- On closed-circuit television
- In a reservation confirmation
- In blogs
- In visitor centers
- In-room
- At a campground or RV site
- At your front desk
Coalition Update
With your help the Care for Colorado Coalition continues to grow. We are now nearly 50 in total, with new Stewardship Partners including the Rocky Mountain Ranger Association, Colorado Land Trust, and new Stewardship Members including Colorado Brewers Guild, Colorado Cross Country Ski Association, Colorado Open Space Alliance, Keeping Colorado Beautiful, Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau, Breckenridge Tourism Office, Lake City, Spanish Peaks Country and Visit Pagosa Springs.
Thank you for taking a leadership role in Colorado stewardship. If you know of any organizations that you would like to recommend becoming part of the Coalition, please let Barb know.
Next Month's Messaging
Thank you for your commitment to Colorado stewardship. Next up, in April, the theme for messaging will be to highlight these Care for Colorado Principles: Keep Wildlife Wild and Leave It As You Find It.
Join Us! CTO's New Low-Impact Travel Initiative Webinar Thursday, April 8, Noon–1pm
With interest in responsible travel surging, the CTO is taking steps to position our state as the destination of choice for people who care about reducing their impacts as they travel and taking vacations that they can feel good about. A new SMARI brand health survey, commissioned by the CTO, shows a sharp increase of interest in traveling sustainably in summer 2021, especially those interested in visiting Colorado. You will also receive updates for how you can help us build an inventory of low-impact travel experiences for promotion through public relations and marketing.
And speaking of low-impact travel, we hope you saw this wonderful article in The New York Times featuring how Colorado is electrifying its byways. Feel free to share this. Click here to read the article >>
New Dates: 2021 Colorado Governor's Tourism Conference
We want to thank the many Coalition Partners and Members who attend the Colorado Governor's Tourism Conference on an annual basis, so we wanted to make sure that you know it has moved!
The conference will now be held at the Pueblo Convention Center Nov. 4–5, 2021. To accommodate the needs of the industry during this time, GovCon 2021 will be offered in a two-day format at a reduced rate. We cannot wait to finally see you again and convene together for a fun-filled, information-packed conference.
The CTO has postponed its plans for Gov Con in Snowmass as The Westin undergoes renovations, but save the date as GovCon will be in Snowmass Sept. 20–23, 2022, in a beautifully updated space. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey to aid our planning efforts for 2021 GovCon.
CTO UK Promotion in April to Include Care for Colorado Principles
The CTO International program is participating in an opportunity with National Geographic in the UK focusing on a plan now, travel later message. An advertorial will feature Colorado as a premier destination for nature experiences to include a callout box containing all seven Care for Colorado Principles. The San Juan Skyway, West Elk Loop and the Cache La Poudre byways will also be highlighted.
Care for Colorado Resources
Please use the following CTO Toolkits as your main resource for accessing stewardship and responsible-travel content to include the Care for Colorado Principles, videos, brochures, downloadable posters and more.