Conservation Service Corps Grants 2026

The 2026 Conservation Service Corps grant program is jointly administered by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA), providing up to $1.5 million in funding to support outdoor recreation, restoration, and stewardship projects executed by accredited conservation service corps. This initiative reflects a long-standing commitment by both organizations to conservation and youth workforce development. GOCO, founded in 1992 and funded through Colorado Lottery proceeds, has invested over $1.4 billion in parks, wildlife, trails, rivers, and open spaces across Colorado. CYCA, a statewide coalition of eight accredited corps, specializes in land, water, and energy conservation by employing youth, young adults, and veterans. The grant’s primary goal is to employ youth aged 14 to 25 in outdoor projects that maintain and enhance Colorado’s public lands and ecosystems. Eligible projects include forest health initiatives, wildfire and flood recovery, habitat restoration, noxious weed removal, and passive recreation infrastructure improvements like trails and signage. Importantly, only forest health projects that have ecological benefits beyond defensible space qualify. Applicants are required to request at least two weeks of service corps work, defined as a minimum of 320 labor hours per week. Eligible applicants include Colorado-based cities, towns, counties, Title 32 special districts, state political subdivisions responsible for open space, land conservation organizations, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Projects must take place on public or permanently protected lands and demonstrate clear community benefits. For projects on federal land, activities must focus exclusively on stewardship or restoration and passive recreation. All projects must demonstrate public benefit and comply with any conservation easements or restrictions. Applicants are expected to coordinate closely with a conservation service corps from the project planning phase and must have capacity to host a corps crew. This includes supporting logistics such as site access, supervision, and project evaluation. Three types of crews are available: day crews ($13,800/week), camping crews ($14,100/week), and specialized crews with chainsaw or herbicide training ($14,800/week). Chipper use incurs an additional weekly charge of $1,250. A minimum 10% match is required, which may be provided in-kind by the applicant, corps, or partners. Waivers may be considered by CYCA upon request. Applications must be submitted via email to Nancy Weil (nweil@cyca.org) by Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 4:00 PM. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF and include a summary form, narrative, two maps, assurance and signature pages, and an authorization letter if work is on restricted land. The review process includes evaluation by GOCO, CYCA, and external reviewers. Awards will be announced at the GOCO Board meeting in December 2025. All projects must be completed by December 31, 2026. Following completion, applicants must respond to a CYCA-generated evaluation form. For eligibility questions, contact Sammie Trotter at GOCO (strotter@goco.org, 720-576-4112). For all other inquiries, contact Tom Dillow at CYCA (tdillow@cyca.org, 303-717-5659). Recipients must commit to project promotion through traditional and social media. CYCA discourages additional attachments beyond those required, and applicants will receive confirmation upon submission.

Coordinate with a conservation corps in advance; contact CYCA if match requirement cannot be met.