Colorado Parks and Wildlife opened applications Wednesday for $150 million in grants to go toward the creation or reinvigoration of parks and other outdoor recreation spaces.

The grant program aims to inspire proposals for urban communities that have limited parks and recreation resources and where a significant portion of residents are economically disadvantaged, officials said. 

Urban areas are defined as high-density areas with populations of at least 50,000. This includes Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Junction, Lafayette, Louisville, Erie, Longmont and Pueblo.

Officials said they will prioritize proposals that directly connect people to outdoor places, help stimulate local economies, create or expand public-private partnerships and engage members of the community in developing the project.

In addition to the location requirements, proposals must advance the goals or meet the recreation needs identified in Colorado’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.

The proposals must also have at least matching funds, meaning the grant cannot fund more than 50% of the total project cost.

Proposals will be accepted until July 29.

Participants should submit proposals to Colorado Parks and Wildlife for review via email at Dnr_trails@state.co.us. Applications can be found on the CPW Trails website.

All questions should be directed to Fletcher Jacobs with the Colorado State Trails Program at 303-791-1957 (extension 4129) or fletcher.jacobs@state.co.us.