Environmental Stewardship Awards

Environmental Stewardship Awards

The 2026 Awards have been given (see below).  Revisit this page in the spring of 2027 to submit your nominations.

What we Recognize

Larimer County has been recognizing Environmental Stewardship since 1995.  The awards recognize the environmental stewardship activities of individuals, organizations, business, or public agencies that take place within Larimer County. The activities can be simple or complex and up to 3 awards are anticipated to be given in 2027. 

A list of the previous stewardship awards, awarded for over 31 years, is available on the county website.

Submit a Nomination

Anyone is eligible to nominate or self-nominate a deserving individual, team, business, or organization for an award.

The 2027 nomination period will open in the spring of 2027. 

 

Online Nomination Form

How the Awards are Selected

The County's Environmental and Science Advisory Board reviews and evaluates each of the nominations based on the following criteria:

  • effective environmental benefit, 
  • degree of commitment  above and beyond typical daily activities,
  • innovative and creative elements, 
  • provide leadership and education to motivate others, and 
  • sustainable environmental stewardship.

Then they make recommendations to the County Commissioners who make the final selection. The winners will be recognized by the Commissioners at a regularly televised meeting.

Questions

We can be reached by phone at (970) 498-7138, or by email if you have questions about the stewardship awards program.

2026 Awardees

We are excited to present Larimer County’s Environmental Stewardship Awards for 2026.  This was the 31th year for these awards!

2026 Award Winners

 

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  • Jeff Puckett is a Fort Collins employee going “above and beyond”.  Jeff has evolved the development of the City’s first Transportation Demand Management Plan into the action of a public-facing program giving residents the tools to choose sustainable transportation.
  • Employees biking to work has doubled and nearly 300 active users of the ride-matching program are finding carpools, planning efficient routes, and earning rewards.
  • Jeff’s work is helping to achieve the City’s sustainability goals by reducing carbon emissions and proving that turning plans into action can be done.
  • Many thanks to Jeff Puckett for championing the Fort Collins Shift Your Ride program resulting in more than 8,400 sustainable trips!
  • Peaks to People aggregates public, private, and philanthropic funding to create measurable fuels reduction, erosion mitigation and protection of homes from the impacts of wildfire.
  • Bringing together more than 15 partners to align priorities and help to develop the Wildfire Ready Action Plan for the Big Thompson watershed, allows for an action oriented and collaborative understanding of regional post-fire risks.
  • Creation of a braided funding model that links downstream beneficiaries to upstream action, Peaks to People represents a unique and scalable approach to environmental stewardship, connecting those who depend on clean water with the landscapes that provide it.
  • Thank you, Peaks to People Water Fund, for deploying more than $8.5 million funds to accelerate forest restoration and reduce wildfire risk.
  • Red Feather Lakes Wildfire Defense Project is implementing wildfire mitigation that is implementing the priorities of the Community Wildfire Protection Plans developed by four mountain communities.
  • Partnerships between Glacier View Fire Protection District, Crystal Lakes Fire Protection District, Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District, and Cherokee Meadows Road Association, together these implementing partners represent a unique effort to be coordinated.
  • Community education and outreach programs have established trust and collaboration across these many communities to create long-term resilience (both public safety and forest health) well into the future.
  • Thank you, Red Feather Lakes team, for landscape-scale wildfire mitigation through a partnership of the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and the Office of Emergency Management.