Colorado Public Lands Day to celebrate outdoor spaces

Hikers make their way along Elbert Creek Trail. Multiple events are planned Saturday for the second annual Colorado Public Lands Day.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file

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Hikers make their way along Elbert Creek Trail. Multiple events are planned Saturday for the second annual Colorado Public Lands Day.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file

Multiple events are scheduled for the second annual Colorado Public Lands Day to be held Saturday.

The goal of the events is to give back to the environment and promote public lands for all to use.

Colorado is the first state in the nation to have a state Public Lands Day. In 2016, the state legislature passed a bipartisan bill, which the governor signed, creating a Public Lands Day, said Lisa Pool, with Conservation Colorado, an environmental advocacy group.

Public lands are important to celebrate, because many Coloradoans identify with the open spaces, she said.

Public lands make up 23 million acres of land in Colorado, she said. In addition, the outdoor recreation industry brings $34 billion to the state.

The holiday provides an occasion to give back and unite to protect public lands, Pool said.

The goal of the events are to continue growing the holiday, as well as attract people to be involved with public lands who are not the usual suspects of environmental groups. A way to do this is to reach out to organizations from all walks of life, she said.

Six events plus a party are scheduled by various organizations this weekend including hikes, land cleanups and an art session.

In Durango’s backyard are two swaths of public land: The Weminuche Wilderness at 499,771 acres and the San Juan National Forest at 1.8 million acres.

The most recent bid to protect land in the area is the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, introduced in April by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, which would protect about 61,000 acres of land in the San Juan Mountains.

rsimonovich@durangoherald.com