Two grants worth a total of $83,550 were awarded to support restoration projects in Mesa County.

The Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) board awarded a $22,200 grant for restoration efforts in Riverbend Park in Palisade and a $61,350 grant for restoration on Pinyon Mesa south of Grand Junction.

The Town of Palisade and Desert Rivers Collective will partner with the Western Colorado Conservation Corps to remove tamarisk and Russian olive trees and in turn reduce wildfire risk in the park.

Town employees and corps crews will remove invasive plants and apply herbicide. The project will build on past work at the park.

Colorado West Land Trust will partner with the Western Colorado Conservation Corps on the project on Pinyon Mesa. Crews will remove invasive vegetation and install soft structures to promote water flow in meadows and stream corridors. Crews also will thin forests and remove old fencing.

The project is part of a multi-year collaboration involving the Colorado West Land Trust, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Mountain Island Ranch and Rivers Edge West.

Great Outdoors Colorado invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to preserve and improve open spaces, parks, rivers, trails and wildlife habitat. To date, GOCO has invested more than $45.6 million in projects in Mesa County and partnered to conserve 18,284 acres of land.

Funding has supported the Colorado Riverfront Trail, Highline Lake State Park and Las Colonias and Riverbend parks, among other projects.