Hickenlooper, Bennet Welcome $53 Million for Key Colorado Projects

56 Colorado county governments to receive Payment In Lieu of Taxes funding

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet welcomed the Department of the Interior's (DOI) announcement of $53.7 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) 2026 funding for 56 Colorado counties. Each year, DOI collects revenue from commercial activities on public lands, a portion of which is shared with states and counties.

"Colorado's public lands are central to what makes our state such a remarkable place to call home and to visit. PILT reinvests the revenue from those public lands into the surrounding communities to support firefighters, police, and road repairs," Hickenlooper said.

"Coloradans count on PILT funding to help communities with federal lands pay for roads, public safety, and other essential services," said Bennet. "This $53 million investment will strengthen local communities today while we continue the work towards securing a permanent solution. I'll keep fighting for the certainty and predictability Colorado's rural communities deserve."

PILT payments are made for tax-exempt federal lands administered by the Department of Interior's bureaus, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service, as well as lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

View a full list of funding recipients HERE.

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