The Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission unanimously approved an expansion of the division’s Public Access Program by nearly 200,000 acres Wednesday for the fall hunting season.

Wednesday’s expansion brings the program’s total acreage to nearly 1 million acres and fulfills Gov. Jared Polis’ goal to double the program from 478,000 acres to 973,000.

“I appreciate the collaboration and cooperation from the agriculture community as Colorado sees increased demand for recreational hunting and angling access,” Polis said in a news release. “Being able to spread our recreational activities across more land is not only more fun, but also more sustainable and healthy for our ecosystem.”

The newly added 199,000 acres of land spread across 69 trust land properties across the state and range from a single-640 acre section to 10,000 acre properties. 

These new locations will be accessible for the 2021 hunting season, but will be announced with the release of 2021 Colorado Recreational Lands Brochure later this year, CPW officials said

“I’m thrilled that hunters and anglers will have more access to state trust lands in Colorado this season,” said CPW Director Dan Prenzlow.

The expansion is funded through CPW’s hunting and fishing license fees through the “Future Generations Act” that was passed in 2018. Additionally, since 2008, leasing of state trust lands has earned the state $2 billion for the state’s public schools, according to the release. 

“Hunters and anglers are a critical foundation to wildlife conservation,” Prenzlow said. “It’s an added benefit that our Public Access Program helps fund Colorado school kids.”

In 2020, CPW enrolled additional lands in the Eastern Colorado plains where bird and small game hunting is popular. Prior to that expansion, most of the PAP’s land was in northwestern Colorado where big game hunting is king.

But despite the state reaching its goal to double the amount of land within the PAP, Dan Gibbs, the executive director of the Department of Natural Resources, says they aren’t done yet.

“In the coming years, Governor Polis and the Department of Natural Resources will continue to seek additional access opportunities to encourage Coloradans to experience, explore and enjoy the outdoors.”