Keep Colorado Wild Pass raises $39.7M for Colorado state parks, search and rescue teams, and avalanche safety
Bridget O'Rourke
DENVER—More than 1.5 million Coloradans opted to buy a Keep Colorado Wild Pass during its first full year of being on sale, which generated $39.7 million to support Colorado state parks and outdoor first responders.Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) set a goal to raise at least $36 million annually from pass sales. The first $32.5 million will go toward state park maintenance and development; the next $2.5 million will go toward search and rescue teams, and $1 million will go to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). Any revenue beyond that will go to wildlife projects and outdoor educational programs.
CPW and the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) launched the new $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass in Jan. 2023. The first fiscal year of Keep Colorado Wild Pass sales ended on June 30, 2024, with revenue reaching $39.7 million.
CPW presented the final revenue numbers for fiscal year 2023 at the Aug. 24 Parks and Wildlife Commission Meeting held in Colorado Springs, CO.
“We’re excited to report on the Keep Colorado Wild Pass’s success during its first year of operations,” said CPW Chief Financial Officer Justin Rutter. “This is a substantial increase in revenue for our agency compared to previous years, which means our state parks, wildlife, search and rescue volunteers, and avalanche forecasters will get a boost in funding in the coming year too.”
The Keep Colorado Wild Pass offers a 60 percent savings compared to a traditional $80 annual state park pass and provides car, bike, and foot entry into all Colorado state parks.
Residents can get or opt out of the pass annually when registering a passenger vehicle, light truck, motorcycle, or recreational vehicle with the DMV. When a resident buys a Keep Colorado Wild Pass, the DMV prints a Colorado Parks and Wildlife logo on your vehicle registration card, which serves as the park pass to present at entrance stations to enter a state park.
State Park Maintenance Projects
CPW has brainstormed ways to use the funding to improve existing parks through new campsites, updating facilities like bathrooms and visitor centers, parking lots and roads, updating signage, building new picnic areas, and more. Funding will also be allocated for park operating budgets and new FTE positions.
Search and Rescue Funding
On average, Colorado Backcountry Search and Rescue (BSAR) organizations can respond to more than 3,600 search and rescue incidents yearly– more than any other state. The Backcountry Search and Rescue Study released in 2022 showed that BSAR volunteers spend an average of $1,587 annually out-of-pocket on equipment, fuel, and other expenses to respond to incidents.
Revenue from Keep Colorado Wild Pass sales will allocate $2.5 million for local backcountry search and rescue teams to help fund rescuer training, mental health programs, and team equipment. CPW also plans to divide $1.5 million into county allocations, which are grants for eligible counties to be used over a 2-year period to purchase items based on a county-designed project. The intent for this funding is to be a semi-fixed funding source that flexibly accommodates team strategies for priority purchases over time.
Support the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC)
Funding from the Keep Colorado Wild Pass enables CAIC to provide better avalanche safety information to the public. Some of the specific improvements to the state’s public avalanche safety program that this funding has supported include the new CAIC website – launched for the 2022-23 season – with dynamic forecast zones that provide more detailed avalanche information, a new avalanche-awareness curriculum CAIC developed with AIARE and NWAC last season, and the development of basic avalanche-education materials in Spanish. This funding also allowed CAIC to convert temporary jobs to permanent positions to help the organization attract and retain the most qualified avalanche forecasters and base them in mountain communities.
“Whether you use the pass to visit state parks or to show support for our outdoor first responders and avalanche forecasters, your contribution plays an integral role in giving back to the outdoor spaces and programs our local communities treasure,” said CPW Deputy Director Heather Disney Dugan.
For more information on the Keep Colorado Wild Pass, visit https://cpw.state.co.us/keep-colorado-wild-pass.
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.