Help Restore Federal Funding for Restoration and Rural Economic Development
Trout Unlimited’s restoration efforts in Colorado don’t just support the state’s working lands and waters, they are also a driving force behind rural economic growth. We’ve long recognized the importance of healthy rivers and fisheries for the outdoor recreation economy, which in Colorado generates $17.2 billion in economic activity and supports over 132,000 jobs. TU’s projects are also generating high-quality jobs for contractors, engineers, and laborers, most of whom live and work in the very communities benefiting from these projects.
Many of TU’s efforts rely upon and help leverage federal dollars from agency partners such as the Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. In Colorado alone, TU is managing more than $24 million in federally-funded projects, helping support more than 250 Colorado jobs through our contractors and partners. Federal dollars are critical to conducting projects like the Colorado River Connectivity Channel (pictured) - and they are multiplied, leveraging other state, local and private sector dollars to make a difference for our waterways and local communities.
The recent pause in government funding creates financial hardships for contractors, workers, farmers, ranchers and others who depend on restoration projects for income. The negative impacts in Colorado’s rural areas are especially devastating.
Looking forward, the future of restoration funding programs is in question as Congress takes up how to approach the next federal budget year - and continued funding for agency partnership grants is critical for needed projects from protecting water in the Colorado River, to reducing wildfire risks in our forests, to modernizing infrastructure for irrigators to benefit both farms and fish.
As Congress and agencies review these federally-funded programs, we urge you to reach out to your elected officials and ask them to restore - and sustain - critical federal funding for restoration projects and the rural communities they support.
