In his new role with the Trust for Public Land, he will be working with private landowners, communities, and government agencies to develop effective land protection strategies designed to ensure Colorado's unparalleled growth does not come at the expense of its farm and ranch land, open spaces, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. He is scheduled to begin work with TPL in July. If Colorado is going to continue to be foremost on lists of great places to live, work and raise families, we've got to continue to develop innovative ways to invest in the protection of these places. TPL's market-based techniques for land protection, public finance expertise, and entrepreneurial culture make it particularly suited to effectively address growth and sprawl issues in Colorado. I am honored to have been selected to lead TPL's Colorado program.
Rapid growth continues to fuel concerns of Colorado residents.
In a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, respondents ranked growth, sprawl, and resulting loss of open spaces in Colorado as their number one concern. I consider it to be one of the principal challenges of my tenure as DNR Director to help Colorado grow where we need to and protect land where we need to. Under Doug's direction, TPL can play a valuable role in demonstrating how land protection fits into the larger question of making growth work in the best interests of the state. Working with private landowners, communities, and government agencies, TPL has helped protect more than 50,000 acres in Colorado through 59 land acquisition projects. Nationally, the organization has helped protect 1,600 special places for people to enjoy as parks, playgrounds, community gardens, recreation areas, and wilderness lands.