Colorado Fourteeners Initiative protects and preserves the natural integrity of Colorado’s 54 14,000–foot peaks—the “Fourteeners”—through active stewardship and public education.

Colorado’s Fourteeners contain rare and fragile native tundra ecosystems that are uniquely adapted to living on these high peaks. These tundra plants, however, are ill-adapted to being trampled by the half-million people who are estimated to climb these peaks every year. In many places resource damage is past the point of natural recovery.

CFI partners with the US Forest Service, passionate volunteer partners and donors nationwide to:

1. Create a structure for engaging local communities in the protection of Colorado’s highest peaks
2. Build and maintain sustainable hiking routes on the Fourteeners to accommodate hiking use while minimizing damage to native alpine ecosystems
3. Stabilize and restore trampled and eroded areas to protect sensitive alpine plant and animal communities
4. Educate Fourteener hikers about Leave No Trace principles and sustainable recreational practicesdesigned to lessen ecosystem impacts

Through this unique,voluntary partnership, Colorado’s Fourteener ecosystems are protected from harm while continuing to make the peaks accessible to hikers without burdensome restrictions and fees.