Great Outdoors Colorado, the arm of state government that spends 50 percent of lottery proceeds to acquire open space and preserve outdoor activities, set aside another 13,595 acres yesterday, about 300 of them at 12 undeveloped locations around the Denver metro area, bringing the total number of acres preserved since 1992 to 774,000, according to The Denver Post. Purchases are becoming more critical each year because the state’s available open spaces are disappearing, while the state population is rising, says GOCO director Lise Aangeenbrug.

About $6 million of the overall recent purchases, which total around $13.8 million, will go to southern Colorado, writes The Pueblo Chieftain. It will be used for everything from ranchland preservation in Alamosa County to the expansion of a sports complex in Pueblo. Longmont and Boulder also received money from GOCO: $700,000 for development of the 81-acre Dry Creek Community Park and $45,000 for signs at Valmont Bike Park, respectively, notes the Daily Camera.