Get Outdoors Leadville! named SE Region Partner of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill Vogrin
Southeast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927 / [email protected]

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Dan Prenzlow poses with Vanessa Saldivar, executive director of Get Outdoors Leadville!, after the agency was honored with the CPW Southeast Region Partners in the Outdoors Award. They are joined by Southeast Region Manager Brett Ackerman. Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife

April 19, 2022

Get Outdoors Leadville! named SE Region Partner of the Year

VAIL, Colo. – Get Outdoors Leadville!, a group working to improve access to the outdoors in Lake County, has been honored with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southeast Region Partners in the Outdoors Award for 2022.

The award was announced at the annual Partners in the Outdoors conference on April 19 in Vail. Get Outdoors Leadville! was nominated by CPW’s Tracy Predmore, Southeast Region education coordinator, and Zach Baker, assistant area wildlife manager for the Upper Arkansas River region.

Accepting the award on behalf of Get Outdoors Leadville! was Vanessa Saldivar, executive director.

Get Outdoors Leadville! is dedicated to helping members of the community connect with nature. The group facilitates access and removes barriers so all can enjoy the outdoors. It does so by partnering with community and school groups creating programming to further its goals.

In their nomination for Partner of the Year, Predmore and Baker described Get Outdoors Leadville! as a "stellar partner."

“Its mission of ensuring equitable access to culturally informed and enriching outdoor experiences ties into CPW's Strategic Plan of connecting people to Colorado's outdoors,” Predmore and Baker said in the nomination.

The agency offers a variety of programs to Leadville and Lake County residents including multi-generation fishing days, trail challenges and archery days. For those who lack the gear needed for an adventure, Get Outdoors Leadville! offers warm clothing, camping gear and mountain bikes.

As an example of Get Outdoors Leadville!'s collaborative work, the nomination mentioned its partnership with Full Circle of Lake County, which is dedicated to youth development, community empowerment and family services including immigrant families and Spanish-speaking families in Leadville.

The agency also trains teachers and administrators from across Colorado how to create a safe and inclusive learning environment in the outdoors for students through its "Taking Kids Outdoors" program.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.