Lottery and (GOCO) a good bet

Whether you are cheering your neighbor shuffling along the base path toward first base, hiking a trail on a state park looking for a lark bunting or being educated about bighorn sheep in Georgetown, odds are favorable that the Colorado Lottery Division and Great Outdoors Colorado might have a hand in your adventure.

The voter approved Colorado Lottery Division is set to expire in 2024, unless legislative action is taken. Lottery revenue funds are shared with important organizations like Great Outdoors Colorado, the Conservation Trust Fund, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and State Parks. Our local counties, cities and towns receive 40 percent of Great Outdoors Colorado funds equaling over $56 million to provide, improve and maintain, park and recreational services throughout Colorado municipalities.

Lottery funds also distributed $14 million (10 percent) to Colorado Parks and Wildlife for wildlife projects, trail and stream stewardship programs, facility maintenance and land acquisition. Since 1994 CPW conserved in excess of 114,318 acres throughout Garfield, Pitkin, Mesa, Moffat and Routt counties.

Most years the Great Outdoors Colorado cap is met, with surplus funds going to the Colorado Department of Education’s school capitalization fund. As a western slope sportsman please join me to encourage our legislature to remove the lottery sunset date and make us all winners.

Rick Seymour

Silt