Colorado voters to decide on using sporting goods tax revenue for conservation, wildfire restoration
This November, Colorado voters will decide if they want to redirect revenue generated by an existing tax on sporting goods to help protect against wildfires and support conservation efforts.
The proposition would not increase taxes. Instead, it would use money from the state's existing sales tax on sporting goods and equipment to help prevent wildfires, protect drinking water, and conserve lands and forests. Proponents of the bill say it will support:
- Wildfire risk reduction
- New state parks
- River and clean water protection
- Improved outdoor recreation infrastructure
- Wildlife and habitat management
- Land conservation and restoration
- Environmental education programs
- Grants to local governments and land trusts
"Denver Water is responsible for delivering clean water to more than one and a half million Coloradans. Our drinking water starts as snowpack and rainfall in the mountains, filters through our forests and flows into the rivers that supply our communities," said Alan Salazar, CEO of Denver Water. "But bigger, more intense wildfires are increasingly damaging our forested watersheds and degrading our source water supplies. Proposition 137 would provide crucial funding to restore our forests and make them more resilient against the threat of catastrophic wildfire, helping ensure the high-quality water supply that Coloradans depend on."
On Friday, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office certified that the campaign submitted more than the required signatures for Prop 137 to qualify for the November ballot.
Protect Colorado's Land and Water, Prevent Wildfires says if passed, the proposition would generate approximately $175 million per year. That would provide:
- $83 million would go to Great Outdoors Colorado for land and water conservation, new state parks, habitat restoration, new trails and recreation infrastructure, and grants to local communities and land trusts.
- $83 million would be shared between the Department of Natural Resources and the Colorado State Forest Service for wildfire mitigation efforts to protect communities, landscapes, and watersheds from catastrophic wildfires through the following four grant programs:
Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program
Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation
Healthy Forest Vibrant Communities
- $4.3 million would support the Outdoor Equity Grant Program, helping youth and families access the outdoors.
- $4.3 million would help create new jobs in the outdoor industry through the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.