Boulder County approves trail design funds, $1.8 million in fuels grants

Boulder County commissioners on July 21 approved $515,135 in federal funding for preliminary engineering on the Boulder-to-Erie Regional Trail and $1.8 million in grants for wildfire-fuels mitigation. They also approved CO 119 trail-connection funding and authorized a federal grant application for a more resilient Overland crossing. The county’s agenda packet and meeting record document the actions.

The county accepted the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program award with no county match. The preferred Boulder-to-Erie route is an approximately 8.5-mile trail along an unused railbed. Preliminary and final design are scheduled for 2026 through 2028, with phased construction planned for 2029 and beyond, according to the county’s project page. The award supports design and pre-construction work, not trail construction.

For the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Project, the board amended an existing agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation. One element, First and Final Mile Trail Connections at CO 52 and Ogallala Road, has a $1.1 million grant and requires a $220,000 county match; CDOT is to construct it. County records identify a second element, Hover Corridor pedestrian improvements, but do not specify a separate award or construction schedule.

Commissioners also authorized submission of a federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant application to replace the Overland crossing over South St. Vrain Creek and make related flood, roadway, channel and fish-passage improvements. The action was an application, not an award or construction approval; the reviewed record does not state the requested amount or a construction date.

The four approved spring 2026 Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant projects total $1,805,612.88 in grants, with $2,537,600 in listed matches and a combined project budget of $4,343,212.88, according to the staff report:

• Conifer Hill Community Defense Project: 350 acres; $990,262.88 grant, $1.1 million match and $2,116,512.88 total budget.
• Dry Gulch Forestry Project: 54 acres; $207,000 grant, $364,000 match and $571,000 total budget.
• YMCA Camp Tumbleson Lake Forestry Project: 235 acres; $417,000 grant, $856,000 match and $1.273 million total budget.
• Town of Superior Grazing Mitigation Project: 269 acres; $191,350 grant, $191,350 match and $382,700 total budget.

The records document approvals and planned funding, not completed trail, CO 119, Overland or fuels work. The BRIC application’s amount and outcome, the Hover Corridor schedule and construction or treatment start dates remain to be reported.