Winter Park received over $40,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) for forest management and fire mitigation.

GOCO announced the recipients of the Conservation Service Corps grant program on Friday, which this year includes Winter Park. The $41,800 grant will go toward clearing fire fuels on 20 miles of trails in Winter Park, Fraser and Tabernash.

Headwaters Trails Alliance will take charge of the work, partnering with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to clear dead trees and other fuels. The mitigation work is expected to start in the summer of 2021 and take approximately four weeks, finishing before the year’s end.

The work will focus on the Phases and Idlewild trail systems, clearing dead and diseased trees and piling wood for burning.

“In addition to reducing wildfire risk, this project will improve public safety, enhance recreation opportunities, and reduce annual maintenance costs by lessening the number of tree blowdowns during high winds,” a release about the grant said.

The area around Winter Park experienced two historic derechos this summer, an intense windstorm, as well as the Williams Fork Fire, which burned almost 15,000 acres south of Fraser.

The Conservation Service Corps grant program works with the Colorado Youth Corps Association to hire members out for outdoor recreation and resource stewardship projects.

Previous GOCO grants, totaling $17.2 million, supported Raffety Park, the conservation of Troublesome Creek Ranch, the Arrow Trail System, Wolf Park, and the Fraser Valley Sports Complex.