Jackie Miller is the Executive Director of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), and Carlos Fernández is the Colorado State Director for The Nature Conservancy. Both are highly respected leaders in Colorado’s conservation community, and they’ve played pivotal roles in shaping the state’s approach to protecting land, water, wildlife, and outdoor access. While Carlos has joined me on the podcast several times before, this is Jackie’s first appearance, and I was honored to have them both on to discuss one of the most significant conservation developments in recent memory.

Just a few weeks ago, the State of Colorado announced the launch of its Outdoors Strategy—a comprehensive, collaborative roadmap designed to align the state’s conservation, outdoor recreation, and climate resilience efforts for decades to come. Developed through years of planning, dialogue, and consensus-building across hundreds of organizations and communities, the Strategy addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing Colorado’s landscapes and communities. It’s not just a plan—it’s a shared vision backed by actionable goals, clear metrics, and powerful tools for implementation at the local and statewide levels.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss the origin of Colorado's Outdoors Strategy, the urgency behind its creation, and the unique collaborative process that brought it to life. Jackie shares how GOCO’s long-standing community partnerships and flexible funding model positioned the organization to lead at a statewide scale, while Carlos explains how the Strategy dovetails with The Nature Conservancy’s science-based goals and priorities. We also explore the Strategy’s three “North Star” goals, the innovative Resource Hub that supports on-the-ground action, and the importance of regional implementation and tribal engagement. It’s a timely, inspiring look at how Colorado is setting a national standard for coordinated, community-driven conservation.

---

Jackie Miller
Great Outdoors Colorado
Carlos Fernandez
The Nature Conservancy in Colorado
Colorado’s Outdoor Strategy
Episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/jackie-carlos/

---

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

During the last week of every month throughout 2025, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org

---

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

3:03 – Intros, Carlos then Jackie
5:09 – Explaining Great Outdoors Colorado
8:51 – How Jackie got to GOCO
11:37 – Carlos on GOCO
15:29 – Challenges that led to Colorado's Outdoors Strategy
19:04 – Opportunities that the Strategy will address
21:33 – Jackie’s executive summary
27:01 – How the Strategy aligns with TNC’s other goals
29:59 – North stars and measuring success
33:22 – The TNC tools Carlos is excited about
36:34 – Creating urgency to execute a plan
40:14 – Face-to-face
42:51 – Carlos’s thoughts on execution
45:49 – How the plan affects the layperson
47:25 – What did we miss? First Jackie
51:29 – Then Carlos
53:31 – Book recs
57:42 – Wrap up words of wisdom

---

ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: