OREC Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP)

The Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) aims to revitalize Colorado’s rural economies by leveraging their local outdoor recreation opportunities. RTAP partners with graduate students from the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program at CU Boulder, CSU Extension, and the U.S. EPA’s Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) program to provide planning and strategy assistance for outdoor recreation and Main Street development in selected rural communities. Graduate students take on the role of community consultants and walk their partner communities through a facilitated planning assistance process that is based upon the RERC program, to develop a Community Action Plan for the next 12-24 months. CSU Extension provides support for the subsequent 2 year period to assist partner communities with the implementation of the Community Action Plan and to evaluate program deliverables. All three phases are intended to create a solid framework for communities to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by outdoor recreation by prioritizing common goals, connecting stakeholders, and identifying resources to support the implementation of the Community Action Plan. Please note that this program is based on, but separate from, the RERC program from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.