Colorado voters approved Amendment 8 in 1992 to fund parks and playgrounds. Thirty-two years later, $1.1 billion of lottery proceeds—64% of all Great Outdoors Colorado spending—went to conservation easements on private land the public cannot access. The families who buy lottery tickets don’t have parks for their children.
Ken Salazar authored the constitutional amendment. He was serving as Colorado’s Director of Natural Resources under Governor Roy Romer when they formed the citizens committee that crafted the proposal. Norma Anderson, who later chaired GOCO’s board, described the design: “They purposely wrote that the legislative body would not have oversight over GOCO.”
The trap was built in. GOCO operates as a political subdivision, not a state agency, which exempts it from legislative control. The legislature cannot override board decisions or redirect the money. The constitution protects GOCO funding permanently—only a statewide vote requiring 55% approval can change it.
Sixteen of nineteen board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. The remaining three serve as ex officio members. Democrats have held the governorship since 2007, appointing every member currently serving. Eighteen years of single-party control means eighteen years of ideological uniformity.
Colorado Constitution Article XXVII requires GOCO to spend “substantially equal” amounts across four purposes: wildlife, outdoor recreation, open space, and local government. The phrase “over time” gives the board flexibility to shift priorities across decades. That same phrase provides the constitutional justification for correcting imbalances.
A 2017 state audit examined GOCO’s spending patterns. Outdoor recreation—the category funding parks, trails, and playgrounds—received $24 million less than any other category. The audit documented a violation of the constitutional mandate. The board ignored it and continued prioritizing conservation easements.
GOCO has spent $1.552 billion since 1993. Conservation easements consumed $1.1 billion of that total—64% of all spending went to permanent land restrictions. Colorado statute defines these easements as perpetual under C.R.S. §38-30.5-103. Restrictions run with the land. Future landowners inherit limitations they never agreed to, cannot modify them, and cannot terminate them.
The easement program exploded after 2000. That year, Colorado created a 50% state tax credit for conservation easement donations. In 2001, the legislature made those credits transferable—landowners could donate easements, receive tax credits, then sell those credits to third parties for cash. Paula Noonan of Colorado Capitol Watch documented what happened next: “There was, in effect, an easement land rush.”
The financial incentives aligned. Landowners received cash. Land trusts received grants. The board placed easements across 1.7 million acres and 7,593 parcels by 2025. Those restrictions last forever.
Bill Ritter served as governor from 2007 to 2011. John Hickenlooper served from 2011 to 2019. Jared Polis has served since 2019. Three Democratic governors appointed every current board member. The current board chair, Mina Liebert, was appointed by Polis in 2020. Every other governor-appointed member currently serving received appointment from Polis.
Jay Tutchton sits on the GOCO board approving grants. He simultaneously serves on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission setting wildlife management priorities. He also works as general counsel to Southern Plains Land Trust. GOCO provided $3.1 million in grants to Southern Plains Land Trust while Tutchton served on the board approving those grants and on the CPW Commission coordinating wildlife policy.
Southern Plains Land Trust’s mission is explicit: rewilding the prairie. The organization uses bison to create what it calls natural ecosystem patterns across 20,000 acres it owns or manages. Its founder wrote a book titled “Bringing Back the American Serengeti.” The vision is clear—restore prairie to pre-settlement conditions.
Nicole Rosmarino founded Southern Plains Land Trust and served as its executive director while the organization received $3.1 million from GOCO. In May 2025, Governor Polis appointed Rosmarino to direct the Colorado State Land Board, where she now controls 2.8 million acres of state trust lands. She simultaneously serves as Polis’s policy adviser for wildlife, agriculture, and rural economic development. One person now coordinates policy across GOCO funding, state trust lands, and wildlife management.
The pattern repeats. Activists found organizations advancing specific conservation philosophies. Those organizations receive lottery money from boards controlled entirely by governor appointees. The same activists then receive state appointments controlling additional land and policy. The money flows, the appointments follow, and the restrictions multiply.
GOCO will receive approximately $85 million annually in lottery proceeds. The board has committed $50 million over five years to Regional Partnerships Initiative grants funding coalitions across Colorado. The grants cover “capacity building”—which means funding staff salaries for advocacy organizations—and “implementation”—which means placing more easements. The money bypasses legislative appropriations and flows directly to groups advancing the board’s priorities.
The constitutional language “substantially equal over time” provides the opening. Thirty years of imbalance documented in the 2017 audit means decades of corrective spending could be justified. A new governor appointing new board members could redirect that $85 million annually to parks and playgrounds in communities where families actually live. The justification exists in the audit itself—enforcing the mandate, not changing it.
Rural communities face policies restricting agricultural land use. Urban families lack neighborhood parks for their children. Both constituencies benefit from redirecting lottery money to playgrounds and trails instead of permanent easements. The political coalition crosses geographic and ideological lines—anyone who wants parks where people live rather than restrictions on land they’ll never visit.
But the system was designed to resist political change. Board members serve four-year terms. A new governor cannot fire them, only wait for terms to expire and appoint replacements. Even then, the Senate must confirm appointments. And even if the board composition changes completely, the 1.7 million acres already under easement remain restricted forever. Future boards cannot undo what current boards have locked in place.
The genius of the 1992 design reveals itself in operation. Ken Salazar and Roy Romer created a funding mechanism immune to legislative control, protected by constitutional amendment, controlled by governor appointments, and producing permanent outcomes. The board operates independently. The money flows automatically. The restrictions last forever. And the only way to stop it requires convincing 55% of Colorado voters to amend what they approved in 1992—when they thought they were funding parks for their children.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 