NWCCOG   P.O. Box 2308   Silverthorne, Colorado 80498   970.468.0295
Northwest Colorado Council of Governments

Related Contacts

LIZ MULLEN
NWCCOG Foundation Manager
970.468.0295 x123
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

NWCCOG Foundation

The NWCCOG Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization created to facilitate multi-jurisdictional projects, allowing local governments to work with non-profits and community members. Projects administered through the NWCCOG Foundation benefit several communities simultaneously, and allow for all the funds raised to be applied directly to the designated project. The mission of the NWCCOG Foundation is to provide a financial mechanism for NWCCOG member jurisdictions to work collaboratively with not-for-profit organizations, citizen-based groups, and individuals on projects of regional interest and benefit.

Swan Mountain Recpath

The NWCCOG Foundation, Inc. continues to work with the Summit County Open Space & Trails Department to raise the funds needed to construct the Swan Mountain Recpath. Because of the size and cost of this project, the proposed Swan Mountain Recpath has been divided into four segments - each segment is designed to stand alone until the others are constructed and connected.

The Lowry Section was completed in August 2007 at a total cost of $2,009,525 and provides 1.5 miles of a 10-foot wide, paved Recpath that runs over Swan Mountain, separated from the existing road.

Construction on the second phase, the Sapphire Section, began on August 10, 2009 and it is complete with the exception of paving. Paving will take place as soon as weather permits in the spring of 2010 and a ribbon cutting event will be held to officially open this section to the public. The Sapphire Section will provide 0.71 miles of a 10-foot wide, paved Recpath that will run from the end of the Lowry Section to Sapphire Point and the estimated cost is $845,000.

Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative

The NWCCOG Foundation closed out a two year grant from the National Forest Foundation in the amount of $14,750 which was used to help the Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative (CBBC) to become an independent 501(c)(3) organization. This grant was able to leverage an additional $40,000 to support the CBBC - $10,000 each from the US Forest Service, Colorado State Forest Service, Denver Water, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). The CBBC has completed all of the necessary steps to become an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The CBBC has hired Abbie Cobb as their coordinator and will seek their own funding to continue operating in 2010.

Ski Area Conservation Fund

At the request of the National Forest Foundation, NWCCOG Foundation applied for and was awarded $42,880 in Ski Area Conservation Funds to complete on-the-ground beetle kill mitigation work on Forest Service property. The NWCCOG Foundation, with the approval of the US Forest Service - Dillon Ranger District, contracted with the Department of Corrections' Colorado Correctional Industries forestry crews to complete the following:

In May 2009, a crew of 20 individuals worked for six days to clear partially burned debris from the Peak One Campground in Frisco, Colorado, which allowed 79 campsites to re-open before the Memorial Day weekend. The partially burned wood was from burn piles of beetle-kill trees that had not burned completely, leaving rings of charred wood throughout the campground. The crews also reconstructed several parking pads under the supervision of the USFS Dillon Ranger District.

In June 2009, a crew of 20 individuals worked for 18 days to clear approximately 43 acres of beetle-kill lodgepole pine from the Ryan Gulch area in the Wildernest subdivision outside of Silverthorne, Colorado. Crews cut down dead trees, limbed and sectioned the trunks, chipped the slash, and stacked the wood as specified by the USFS personnel.

 2009 Accomplishments:

  • The NWCCOG Foundation has been working to raise funds for the Swan Mountain Recpath project since 2005 and has raised over $634,000 in private sector funds that serve as the required matching funds to the $3.2 million raised by Summit County Open Space & Trails Department through public funding sources.
  • Assisted the Friends of Swan Mountain Recpath with the organization of two successful fundraising events in the summer of 2009: a concert/silent auction that raised over $13,000 and a cycling ride that raised approximately $24,000.
  • Closed out a two year grant from the National Forest Foundation in the amount of $14,750 which was used to help the Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative (CBBC) to become an independent 501(c)(3) organization.
  • Applied for and was awarded $42,880 in Ski Area Conservation Funds to complete on the ground beetle kill mitigation work on Forest Service property in NWCCOG's Region.