Colorado Rural Technical Assistance Program

The Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) partners teams of graduate students from the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program at CU Boulder with the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, CSU Extension, and the US EPA’s Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) program to provide planning assistance for outdoor recreation and Main Street development for rural communities in Colorado.  Graduate students take on the role as community consultants and walk their partner communities through a facilitated planning assistance process that is based upon the RERC program, to develop a Community Action Plan for the next 12-24 months. CSU Extension then provides support for the subsequent 2 year period to assist partner communities with the implementation of the Community Action Plan.

In this session, panel members will discuss how this partnership came together, the community engagement process, the different roles played by each partner, final deliverables and community outcomes, and lessons learned. The aim of this session is to provide insight on how a partnership like this can be replicated across the country to help meet the growing demand for planning assistance for Main Street and outdoor recreation development for rural communities. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the various partners and roles involved in the Colorado Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP)

• Identify the steps and logistical requirements to develop a similar program

• Evaluate the relevance and applicability of RTAP to their organization and state

• Assess how outdoor recreation collaborations between higher education and the outdoor recreation industry can support the needs of rural communities across the country

Presenters:

• Dr. Natalie Ooi, Associate Teaching Professor, CU Boulder Masters of the Environment and Outdoor Recreation Economy Graduate Programs

• Matt Nunez, Senior Program Manager, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office

• Guinevere Nelson, Douglas County Extension Director, CSU Extension