Ballot Measure Would Protect Colorado’s Land and Water, Ease Wildfire Risk
Proposition 137 could generate roughly $175 million a year for fire prevention and conservation without raising taxes
Colorado’s increasingly severe wildfires threaten the state’s lands, waters, communities, and the outdoor recreation that is the backbone of the state’s economy, which drew 90 million visitors in 2022 alone.
Recognizing what’s at stake, a broad coalition of small businesses, state and local elected officials, hunters and anglers, and conservation organizations—including The Pew Charitable Trusts—has come together to support Colorado’s Proposition 137. The November ballot measure would, if passed, provide reliable funding to reduce wildfire risk, protect Colorado’s natural resources, and sustain its outdoor recreation economy, all without raising taxes.
Wildfire risk—and its costs—have grown
Over the past decade, the size, frequency, and intensity of wildfires in Colorado have rapidly increased, driven by decreasing precipitation, the changing climate, and historical fire suppression practices, which have increased the amount of fuel available for fires. Four of the five largest wildfires in state history have occurred since 2020, destroying 1,900 homes and hundreds of thousands of acres and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
State leaders and policy experts estimate that Colorado needs an additional $150 million to $200 million every year to meet present and future natural resource management challenges and address pressing threats to healthy, productive landscapes, including severe wildfire, habitat loss, drought, invasive species, and disease outbreaks. Prop 137 would provide the adequate, reliable funding required to tackle these problems, while also supporting land and water conservation and boosting outdoor recreation.
How Prop 137 would help
Colorado’s constitution limits how much tax revenue the state can keep each year and requires that anything above that cap be refunded to taxpayers. Prop 137 would allow the state to keep a portion of any tax revenue above the limit—equal to the amount of sales tax collected on sporting goods and equipment in that same year—to fund wildfire mitigation, water and land conservation, and outdoor recreation.
Prop 137 does not raise any tax or change prices at the register, and because it’s a statute rather than a constitutional amendment, the Legislature could amend it in the future if necessary to meet evolving state needs.
State estimates indicate that the measure would generate about $175 million a year to support an array of agency initiatives, such as:
- Great Outdoors Colorado—about $83 million for land and water conservation, new state parks, habitat restoration, new trails and recreation infrastructure, and grants to local communities and land trusts to protect landscapes.
- The Department of Natural Resources and the Colorado State Forest Service—approximately $83 million for wildfire mitigation efforts to protect communities, lands, and waters from catastrophic wildfires.
- The Outdoor Equity Grant Program—roughly $4.4 million to help youth and families access the outdoors.
- The Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office—approximately $4.3 million to create new jobs in the outdoor industry.
Why Pew supports Prop 137
Prop 137’s wildfire provisions align closely with Pew’s “measure, manage, and mitigate” framework by directing dedicated funding toward pre-disaster wildfire risk reduction, forest and watershed resilience, and workforce development. Additionally, the measure would promote coordination among state agencies, which also aligns with Pew’s emphasis on cross-agency disaster resilience and on prioritizing evidence-based activities.
Overall, Prop 137 will provide recurring, annual funding for watershed and drinking water protection, wildfire risk reduction, land conservation, outdoor recreation, and access to nature, helping to support Colorado’s economy for the long term. Pew encourages Coloradans to support the measure when they head to the polls in November, so their state can invest in healthy landscapes and a strong economy.
Patrick Lane is a senior manager, Carrie Sandstedt is a senior officer, and Anna Wearn is an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. conservation project.
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