Royal Gorge Rehab

In 2013, disaster struck one of Fremont County's oldest tourist attractions. The beautiful Royal Gorge bridge and park caught fire. Over 3,200 acres burned and nearly 50 buildings were reduced to ash and rubble.

Within months of the fire, the Fremont Conservation District, agency partners, businesses, and volunteers started working to remedy the after effects of the tragedy.

The area was aerially reseeded with native grasses and shrubs, hydro-axed to mulch the dead trees, and replanted with over 5,000 trees in the goal of replenishing seed sources and stabilizing the soil.  

Nearly 400 volunteers from local businesses, community groups, and schools teamed up with us to provide boots on the ground for this project. With over 1,300 hours of service, the volunteers and agencies were able to cover a lot of ground and we have every belief that the majestic Royal Gorge park will make a grand come back in the coming years. This is an on-going project and will continue for the next several seasons.

A big thank you goes out to Black Hills Energy for donating the mesh bags used to transport the thousands of trees up the mountainside. Also, thank you to the Daily Record, KOAA, KRDO, KRLN radio, the Pueblo Chieftain, and the Denver Post for supporting our efforts to recruit volunteers and for sharing this amazing community story.

Agency Partners:

- Canon City Area Fire Protection District
- City of Canon City
- Colorado State Forest Service
- Fremont County Office of Emergency Management
- Natural Resources Conservation Service

Community Partners:

- Black Hills Energy
- Canon City High School
- Canon City and Florence Rotary Clubs
- Canon National Bank
- Credit Union of Colorado
- ECO group (Environmental Community Organization)
- Florence High School
- Fremont Search and Rescue
- Keller Williams Realty
- TEN (Teaching Environmental education Naturally) teachers' group
- Vladimir Jones Marketing