Events | Get Involved | FAQ | Storytelling | Stay Connected | Resources
Draft Vision Plan Released! We're excited to announce the release of the West End Vision Plan. After 14 months of collaboration, more than 700 community members, and 120+ meetings, the Vision Plan is ready for your review.
About the Project
The West End is creating a community-led strategy for the future. This plan will provide us with a shared direction that will help preserve what we love about the West End and envision an even better future.
The past decade has brought a lot of change, from the loss of the coal industry, to a spike in tourism during COVID, to debates around the Dolores Monument proposal and Norwood Solar Farm. While a regional plan can’t simply solve these challenges, it can provide tools and a voice for us to say what kind of community we’d like to be in the future.
To achieve this goal the Towns of Naturita, Norwood, and Nucla, and West End Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC), with support from our non-profit partner Community Builders, have come together to engage the community and establish a shared path forward: the West End Vision Project. The key part of this process is input from the community, so the ideas in the plan will come from you, the people who live and lead in the West End.
Upcoming Events
Thanks to this amazing community for bringing so much energy, excitement, and emotion to our final celebration on December 11th. We reflected on the process and the lessons we learned (like how strong this community is when it works together), looked ahead to how we can bring this community Vision to life, and celebrated all the wonderful, dedicated, and tireless volunteers who made the Vision Plan possible. Missed it? You can still weigh in on the Draft Vision Plan through January 4th:
- View the Plan online: bit.ly/WE-Vision-Plan
- Provide your feedback: bit.ly/WE-Community-Review
Get Involved!
This is your opportunity to help shape what kind of future you want for your community! West End residents are the ones guiding this process and we can’t make important decisions about how to move forward without your input. Current ways to get involved:
- Sign-up for a Community Conversation here: bit.ly/WE-Convos
- Tell your West End story! See the Storytelling section below for more detail.
- Join our Ambassador Team! Please reach out to Makayla Gordon (mgordon@choosewestend.org) if you are interested in being a part of the group of fabulous local volunteers that help us guide the community engagement process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you define the “West End”? The West End might mean different things to different people, but for the purposes of this project, the West End is the region from the Paradox Valley to Norwood Hill and includes Nucla, Naturita, Norwood, Redvale, Paradox, Bedrock, and Gateway.
Who’s guiding the West End Vision Project? The WE Vision team is the Towns of Nucla, Naturita, and Norwood, WEEDC, and the Chambers of Commerce, with help and support from lots of volunteer community members, local businesses, San Miguel County, and our non-profit partner, Community Builders. But really YOU, the community, are the ones calling the shots!
Who has engaged so far? We're excited to say that many amazing folks have given us their time and input! As of July, 680+ West End residents have participated in the process - most through in-depth discussions. We've worked hard to reach a broad mix of newcomers and old timers, seniors and youth, ranchers and small business owners, and everyone in between! Thank you West End!
How will this help our communities? This process will help give us a clear vision for our future, a voice to respond to outside interests, better access to funding, increased efficiency and collaboration, and clear action steps to improve things like our housing, infrastructure, services, and economy.
How is the project being funded? Half of the funding is from local sources (through WEEDC, fundraising, and contributions from each of the West End communities and counties) and half is from our non-profit partners, Community Builders (through Colorado-based foundations including Gates Family Rubber and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority).
Community Storytelling Series
Facts, numbers, and strategies are important to how we move forward. But so are stories and how we talk about and see ourselves as a community. Since the beginning of time, humans have used storytelling to share knowledge, pass down values, and build a sense of belonging. Here in the West End, our stories matter. They reflect our history, our resilience, and the values we want to carry forward. That’s why we’re launching a storytelling series, sharing the voices of those who make this place home! We'll collect and share words from our community here and we hope you'll join in. Share your story West End story to mackinzi@communitybuilders.org.
Stay Connected
Follow along for updates on our Facebook page: bit.ly/WestEndPlanFB
Reach out to Makayla Gordon (mgordon@choosewestend.org) or Mackinzi Taylor (mackinzi@communitybuilders.org) for more information.