Conservation

We work to protect and improve the public lands and trails our members use through a grant program, volunteering, and education.

What we do

The CMC Boulder Group Conservation Committee works to protect and improve the public lands and trails our members use. That means hands-on trail maintenance and ecosystem restoration alongside partners in the field, plus advocacy for the places we climb, hike, and ski.

The centerpiece of our work is our annual Conservation Grant. Most years, the committee awards grants to local partners for conservation and trail projects in the Boulder area. It is the main way we put member dollars back into the land.

The Boulder Group is one of many local groups within the Colorado Mountain Club. Our local work ties into CMC's statewide conservation program, which includes advocacy for public lands, recreation impact monitoring, and stewardship education. Some of the grants we have awarded, including past support for the CMC Conservation Department, feed directly into that larger effort.

The committee is currently chaired by Lena Gerber. Want to get involved in a project or join the committee?

Email Lena to get involved

The Conservation Grant

Grant period: Applications are closed for 2026, and will reopen in summer 2027.

Grants support specific, local conservation projects on public lands. That includes trail maintenance and ecosystem restoration, and it also includes stewardship programs, along with conservation education and advocacy work. If your project helps protect or care for the lands our members use, we want to hear about it. Grants are not for general operating support.

Funds can go toward materials, revegetation supplies, signs, tools, volunteer t-shirts, mapping equipment, printed and educational materials, advertising, and other non-personnel costs.

Who can apply

Individuals and organizations working on qualifying projects are eligible. The strongest applications meet these criteria:

  • The project is a specific local conservation effort on public lands. This can be trail work, restoration, stewardship, education, or advocacy.

  • It involves or benefits CMC Boulder Group members. This includes projects run by other organizations at destinations our members commonly use.

  • The applicant plays a role in organizing the project, including coordinating with the relevant public land agency.

How applications are scored

The Conservation Committee scores each application on six items. Address them clearly in your application:

  • Fit with the purpose of the CMC grant program

  • Well-defined, feasible objectives

  • Benefit to or involvement of CMC Boulder Group members

  • Clear strategies to reach the stated outcomes and deliverables

  • A specific plan to evaluate whether the project succeeded

  • A comprehensive, reasonable budget

How much you can request

There is no fixed grant amount. The total pool changes each year based on conservation funds collected through membership fees, as approved by the Boulder Group Council. For reference, individual awards in recent years have generally ranged from a few hundred dollars up to about $3,500. Request what your project needs and be specific about how the money will be used.

How to apply & the application process

  1. Complete the application form before the deadline.

  2. Committee review. The Conservation Committee reviews each application and makes a recommendation to the Council at the meeting following the deadline.

  3. Council decision. The Council makes the final decision.

  4. Notification. You are notified by mail within two weeks of the Council meeting. Checks are issued within a month.

  5. Report back. If funded, you agree to send simple proof of how the funds were used. Photos are enough, along with any basic project numbers such as the number of volunteers or the length of trail your funds supported.

Apply now

Questions

Email the Conservation Chair at lena@cmcboulder.org.

    • Rocky Mountain Conservancy, $410. New field guides for the Alpine Bloom Crew, the volunteer team that monitors alpine tundra at the Beatrice Willard research plot at Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road.

    • Boulder Climbing Community, $1,000. WAG bags for the 16 trailside stations across Eldorado Canyon, the Flatirons, Boulder Canyon, Clear Creek, and Staunton State Park.

    • Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, $2,590. Eight hundred feet of accessible trail at Brainard Lake, connecting the campground and overflow parking to the Niwot picnic area, plus restoration of the social trails it replaces.

    • $1,100 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers to support local trail projects

    • $900 to Boulder Climbing Community to support distribution of wag bags

    • $2,300 to Boulder Climbing Community (Avalon Climbing Area Access Stabilization)

    • $500 to Colorado Mountain Club (State) (Boulder-area Recreation Impact Monitoring)

    • $1,500 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers Indian Peaks Trail Restoration

    • $500 to Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Colorado 14er Volunteer Trail Maintenance Project)

    • $1,200 to Access Fund (Thumb Rock Trail Stabilization)

    • $2,000 to Access Fund (Thumb Rock Trail, Estes Park)

    • $2,000 to Boulder Climbing Community (restoration and conservation work at Upper Dream Canyon and Isabelle Glacier Trail)

    • $3,575 to CMC Conservation Dept. (education, Recreation Impact Monitoring System, Pocket Stewardship, and Advocacy)

    • $2,000 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (Blue Lake Trail, Brainard Lake Area)

    • 2,500 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (Llama support for Blue Lake Trail reconstruction, Indian Peaks Wilderness)

    • $3,000 to Boulder Climbing Community (restoration and conservation work at Castle Rock Overlook, Boulder Canyon)

    • $1,255 to Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (equipment for trail maintenance on 15 tallest fourteeners)

    • $1,245 to Eldorado Canyon State Park (lumber and materials to replace decking on streamside bridge to Wind Tower crag)

    • $2,500 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (Pawnee Pass trail corridor maintenance, Indian Peaks Wilderness)

    • $1,500 to Boulder Climbing Community (restoration and conservation work at Nip and Tuck climbing area)

    • $1,500 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers

    • $1,500 to Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance

    • $1,000 to Boulder Climbing Community

    • $1,500 and use of Brainard Lake Cabin to Colorado Mountain Club (State) and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (trail rehabilitation and consolidation at Brainard Lake)

    • $1,500 to City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (repair of social trails at Crown Rock)

    • $200 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (post-flood fencing repairs to bald eagle nesting habitat at White Rocks)

    • $500 to Eldorado Canyon State Park (trail building skills training, building stone steps to popular climbing areas)

    • $200 to Colorado 14ers Initiative (social trail rehabilitation and trail improvements, Maroon Peak, Maroon Bells . Snowmass Wilderness area)

    • $1,000 to Boulder Climbing Community

    • $600 to WildLands Restoration Volunteers

    • $1,750 to Colorado Mountain Club (State)

    • $650 to City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks ecological restoration and trail consolidation at the Contact Corner bouldering area

    • $1,500 to Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) for Castle Rock cleanup

    • $200 to Friends of the Dillon Ranger District for fliers to encourage stewardship in the White River National Forest

    • $1,500 to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers for Leader training and tools

    • $1,500 to CMC - State Conservation Department for clean up and monitoring of the Golden Cliffs

Past grant recipients