Recreation

Board Objective

To promote sustainable recreation in partnership with community providers and other jurisdictions to enhance recreational access, support public health and safety, realize economic opportunities, and preserve natural resource assets.

The Challenge

Nevada County recognizes the connection between the health of people and ecosystems, tourism and outdoor recreation, and community resilience. The County will work with our community to address challenges and opportunities for Nevada County’s open space and organized recreation priorities, furthering solutions that promote community health, safety, economic development, environmental stewardship, and resilience.   

County Initiatives

• Develop a Recreation and Resilience Master Plan to identify and advance key goals and objectives to address challenges and opportunities for Nevada County’s open space, trails and other recreational interfaces, and prioritize solutions that promote community health and safety, economic development, creative placemaking, landscape restoration, environmental sustainability, climate change adaptation, and resilience. The planning process will engage diverse partners including, but not limited to, public lands managers, nonprofit stakeholders, and user groups to plan, fund, and implement sustainable solutions. The plan will include clear identification of viable, prioritized recreation enhancement and development projects, and related funding strategies, in unincorporated Nevada County and that involve Nevada County government.
• Identify and implement strategies to promote health and safety at river crossings, lakes, trailheads, and other high-use or high-risk areas. 
• Collaborate with other organizations and jurisdictions to leverage resources and coordinate efforts to drive outcomes of enhanced recreation access, health and safety, economic development, and resource conservation.
• Build capacity and support sustainability for Western County organized recreation by working with partner districts to make them viable and sustainable. 
• Identify interim and long-term funding mechanisms and advocacy priorities to sustain recreation.
• Staff and manage collaborative to identify immediate high-level projects, promote coordination, and support Recreation and Resiliency Master Plan.

Learn More

• View the Request for Proposals for Outdoor Visitor Safety grants. The program will provide up to $850,000 in one-time grants to respond to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by funding projects to promote public health and public safety at highly impacted outdoor recreation destinations. Learn more about the program.
• Subscribe for updates on our work to promote and provide sustainable recreation in Nevada County.