The Western Slope Conservation Center is proud to announce that it has received over $137,000 from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to complete the trail system at the Paonia River Park.
The Paonia River Park is the only developed public access point along the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The Conservation Center and other community partners have worked hard to make it a safe and enjoyable place for everyone to visit by developing a river overlook and picnic area, building a short trail, and installing a boat ramp. To date, the Paonia River Park represents an investment of thousands of volunteer hours and over $850,000 from grants and private donations.
The Conservation Center is proud of the broad community support that the Paonia River Park enjoys. The work that has been accomplished to date would not have been possible without support from the Town of Paonia, which owns part of the River Park property, United Companies, which donated the initial property parcel, and countless other community organizations and volunteers who have been key to the Paonia River Park’s success.
Alex Johnson, Executive Director of the Conservation Center, is thrilled to share the news with the local community. “This is the culmination of over a decade of community effort to transform an in-stream gravel mine into a fantastic public river park,” said Johnson.
The award of the 2016 Trails Project grant, coupled with the current steel ramp and educational signage projects that are underway, will help the Conservation Center develop the Paonia River Park into a greater recreational and educational resource for Delta County.
Other funders that have made the Paonia River Park’s development possible include: Fishing is Fun in Colorado, Gates Family Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado, Golder Associates, Hotchkiss-Crawford Historic Society, North Fork Historic Society, North Fork Valley Heart and Soul, Paonia Historic Preservation Society, th#e Robert Hayutin Memorial Fund, Town of Paonia, and United Companies.