Why We Support Initiative 308
Note: this measure is currently numbered Initiative 308. This will change when this gets finalized as a proposition for the November ballot.
The board of the Colorado Mountain Bike Coalition (COMTB) has voted to support the November 2026 Ballot Initiative 308, “For Colorado Land and Water.” Here is why, and what it means for the trail systems our community depends on. Ballot info page.
The single biggest funder of new mountain bike trails in Colorado is about to get bigger
The CPW nonmotorized trail grants program, funded through Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), is the single biggest funder of new mountain bike trail construction in the state. Browse some of the projects here. Today, GOCO’s funding comes only from the lottery and contains a constitutional cap.
Initiative 308 would give GOCO a second, independent revenue stream on top of its existing lottery funding, at a scale that would roughly double GOCO’s total annual capacity, outside of the cap. That is a direct, substantial increase in the fund our trail systems are built from – in 2027, predicted to add ~$20M to the ‘recreation’ part of the GOCO fund. The additional funds will be used to increase trail grants, support
Colorado’s Outdoor Strategy, and accelerate implementation of our state’s Regional Partnership Initiative. The additional funds would be administered through CPW.
The breakdown: this initiative requires that revenue from the EXISTING tax on recreational goods – rather than going into the state’s general fund – be divided up:
- 47.5% to GOCO
- 47.5% to existing wildfire mitigation, forest health, and water infrastructure programs
- 2.5% to outdoor equity grants (currently funded by lottery funds if they go over the GOCO cap)
- 2.5% to the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) for workforce development in the outdoor industry, currently funded from the general fund if available
More money for communities to buy the land where we build trails
In addition to directly funding trail projects, GOCO is required by the constitution to provide matching grants that help communities purchase land for recreational use – land that becomes the open space and trail corridors our sport depends on. Initiative 308 will inject an estimated $20M into this side of GOCO as well, meaning more land available for future trail systems, on top of more money to build trails on existing public land.
Support for our values
A smaller share of Initiative 308 funds the Outdoor Equity Fund and the Outdoor Recreation Economic Development Fund. These support goals that the COMTB believes in: improving access for youth and families who face barriers to the outdoors, and building a stronger, better-trained outdoor recreation workforce.
Benefits for every Coloradan
Initiative 308 also funds wildfire mitigation, forest health, and water infrastructure protection, while bolstering CPW’s resources for wildlife protection. These benefit every Coloradan, not just trail users, and we think that broader benefit matters too. We all enjoy Colorado’s natural amenities when we ride, and in Colorado, CPW plays an increasingly important role in the outdoors, including on the 36% of the state that’s federally owned, where recent staffing and resource strain at federal agencies makes state leadership more important than ever. Likewise, wildfire risk threatens the same forests our trail systems run through and the communities that access them.
No new taxes
Initiative 308 does this without raising taxes. It redirects existing sales tax revenue already collected on sporting goods and equipment, revenue that today sits undifferentiated in the general fund, toward these four purposes instead. Importantly, it receives funding from ALL recreational users – not just mountain bikers. Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights normally requires the state to refund revenue collected above a set formula back to taxpayers. Voters can choose to let the state keep and dedicate a specific revenue source instead of refunding it. Initiative 308 would allow the state to retain and use this excess, only for the sales tax on recreation products. This is tax that is already collected today, not a new tax.
Our position
We support Initiative 308. If you as an individual or an organization wants to endorse the campaign directly, you can do so here: https://forcoloradolandandwater.com/endorsements/#endorse
Colorado Mountain Bike Coalition 
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