It’s Miss Mountain Manners again. Lots has been happening behind the scenes at our Open Space program. Here’s the word from our Director, Tom Hoby, in his own words:

South Valley Park, South Trailhead restrooms.

COVID – KN95 Masks Are Now Available for Staff

Please stop by the shop and see Dave Smith, our Shop Coordinator, who will gladly provide you a new mask.  The KN95 is the cousin to the N95 and both masks are rated equal in capturing micron particles.

South Valley Park, South Trailhead is Open!

The trailhead is open to the public as of Wednesday morning, September 23rd!  This is a great example of what Open Space, Road and Bridge and Transportation and Engineering can accomplish when we put our heads together.  Great partnerships and team collaboration!  A big shout-out to Buildings & Historic Sites, Park Services and Ranger Teams, as well as Region Coordinators, Daniel Rubenstein and Scott Timmons for all the help to complete this project swiftly.

North Table Mountain Park – Mud Lab Complete

North Table Mtn Park mud lab.

The Mud Lab Extension on North Table Loop is officially complete!  If you’re at NTM, give it a ride, run or walk and let us know what you think.

Clear Creek Canyon Park – Gateway Restroom Foundation Poured

The foundation has been successfully poured at the CCC Gateway restroom and soon it will be out of sight and out of mind once the walls start going up.  What lies beneath will be ½ mile of in-floor heat pipe and over 2 tons of reinforcing steel (which is more weight than Mary Ann’s Mini & Pedro combined!).

Firewood Sale – Last Weekend

Preparations are underway to host the last firewood sale of the year.  The team will be logging a few hours this weekend to help residents remove the remaining wood.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

With the increased news and cultural conversations around equity and racial justice, many staff members recognize that it is past time that we bring these conversations to JCOS.  The ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are important to our staff, volunteers and visitors in the parks. A new JCOS DEI Committee is being established with the goal of fostering a diverse visitor base that feels empowered to be lifelong stewards of the outdoors and a workplace that is comfortable and welcoming for everyone.

What is diversity, equity, and inclusion?

• Diversity is welcoming of differences between people that may include gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, age, disability, or political views.
• Equity is the promotion of justice, fairness and lack of judgement within the processes, procedures and the dissemination of valuable resources within an institution.
• Inclusion is the outcome of people of diverse backgrounds being and feeling welcomed.

Do you want to join the JCOS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee? Contact Lilly Bock-Brownstein – lbockbro@jeffco.us

All are welcome, whether you are committed to helping long-term or are just curious and want to sit in on one meeting!  If you have any specialized skills, education, or experiences that may help in this effort, please mention it, but it is not required.

Camping Will Resume November 27

The current plan is to resume camping at Sawmill and Idylease campgrounds beginning November 27.  Additional enhancements include a minimum seven-day reservation window and improved method for campers to secure hangtags.  More information will be available as we move closer to the date.

Park Ranger Mark Oline Retirement

Following 37 years of exemplary service as a Resident Ranger (Elk Meadow) and Lead Ranger, Mark Oline retired yesterday. To say that Mark was an institution is understated. His dedication to service, compassion, wisdom, and stewardship set the compass for the Jeffco Ranger culture as it is today. His work will continue in the daily accomplishments of the Jeffco Ranger Team.

As part of his retirement send off, this is the script that JeffCom dispatch read yesterday when Mark went end of watch for the last time. This message reached all law enforcement and first responders throughout Jefferson County.

“End of Watch for 1-Ranger-2. Thank you for 37 years of exceptional service to Jeffco Open Space as a leader, mentor, and friend. You will leave a lasting legacy with your commitment to protect the residents of the community, our natural resources, and heritage. You will be missed by everyone that had the honor to work with you. We have the watch from here. Happy Retirement!”

Mount Falcon Park – Parking Expansion at Mount Falcon – Morrison Trailhead

Mount Falcon parking lot expansion

Temporary expansion of the parking lot at Mount Falcon Park – Morrison Trailhead will start early next week. Following in the success of the South Valley Park South Trailhead expansion, this is another Open Space, Road & Bridge and Transportation & Engineering special. The project will take 2-3 weeks and once complete, will roughly double the available parking spaces to 113. We hope to relieve the neighborhood parking on Vine Street before we design and construct a new entrance from Highway 8.

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park – Boardwalk Complete

The new boardwalk construction is complete and is receiving a lot of positive feedback from park visitors.

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park – Overflow Parking

To help with congestion at the East Trailhead at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park, JCOS finalized a parking agreement with Jeffco Schools that allows visitors to park at Wilmot Elementary School during non-school hours. Visitors can now park at the school and take a 10-minute walk along the Wilmot Trail to access the Park.

Deer Creek Canyon Park – Visitors Report Mountain Lion Activity

The following are excerpts from actual reports submitted through the Human-Wildlife Interactions portal on our website:
Thursday, September 24th: “Running on Red Mesa Loop. Ran up onto cat on blind corner past the tight switchback. I think it surprised the both of us as the cat initially had its back to me. Roughly 10ft distance. Cat spun around and crouched down and had its ears back. I started throwing rocks and yelling. Cat didn’t move until I made contact with a rock then it slowly walked off the trail to the north. It walked off trail maybe 30ft around me. I kept throwing rocks and yelling, but it didn’t move away further. Through the entire encounter, the cat didn’t make any noise or show teeth. I continued clockwise down the loop but walking sideways to keep an eye it. It didn’t seem to pursue me, at least not that I saw.

Mountain lion, photo courtesy of all-free-download.com

Thursday, September 24th: “I was descending Red Mesa Loop, after the first switchback. The trail bends to the left and I heard a rustling in the bushes next to me. Out of my peripheral I saw brown on the trail between the bushes and at first, I thought it was a squirrel. Then it jumped and landed just behind me, within 1-2ft. My first thought was could this be a lost dog? Should I stop? I looked over my shoulder and saw the cat with a big tail. Between looking back and realizing what it was I almost crashed in a small rock garden, but I saved it and kept riding. I looked back once and still saw it. I started yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs and pedaling harder. I knew I couldn’t outrun it and if I looked back one more time and saw it, I would have to stop, lift my bike up to make myself bigger, and face it. I didn’t see it so I kept going as fast as I could, pedaling and looking over my shoulder over and over.”

Sunday, September 27th: “Two different sets of hikers reported that a trail runner told them she had encountered a mountain lion while running on the Homesteader Trail at about 7 am. According to both sets of hikers, the runner reported that the lion was about 100 yards off the trail and went away after being spotted.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) responded to the Park on the evening of the 24th, on the 25th and again on the 27th to monitor the situation. JCOS placed a mountain lion advisory sandwich board at the trailhead and Open Space Rangers hosted mountain lion safety and awareness pop ups throughout the weekend. CPW determined that the animal did not act aggressively, and the behavior may have been due to a kill site or cache being located near the trail.

Do you know what to do if you encounter a mountain lion? Stop. Make yourself look big. Shout forcefully at the lion. Slowly back away. Do not turn and run. If approached, wield a walking stick, throw rocks or use your bike to create a zone of safety. If attacked, fight back.

3rd Annual Colorado Trails Symposium

JCOS staff played a key role in helping to plan and organize this year’s virtual event. The symposium was held on September 30th and included fifteen land management agencies from across the state. Participants heard an array of topics including: Rebuilding the Historic Notch Trail, Best Practices for Partnering with Land Managers, Design & Construction for Resilient Vehicle-Accessible Trails and a Roundtable Discussion on COVID and Trails. By all accounts, this was a big success.

Exploring the Hiwan – Denver Art Museum Connection

In case you don’t know your Hiwan history, Eric’s House was built for Frederick (Eric) Douglass, grandson of Mary Neosho Williams, who purchased the original barn that has transformed into the Hiwan Museum.

In 1929, Eric Douglass joined the Denver Art Museum (DAM) as Curator of Indian Art, with an objective to define the manner in with American Indian objects were re-contextualized in a museum setting. Eric was considered the contemporary expert in Indian Art and Culture. Eric served as curator until 1946 and went on to be the Director of the Museum from 1940-1942. He was also a Trustee of the museum and in 1947 became curator of Native Art, until his death in 1956. Eric acquired thousands of objects with his own funds and most were given outright to the DAM. Through his efforts, Eric created “a whole new and universal approach to the subject of art, Native American peoples and the necessary contextual relationships between societies. He utilized the resources of his Native American relationships and the depth of the DAM collection to reintroduce historical skills and pride in material culture.” (Friends of Native Arts, DAM) Eric would often spend months re-educating the women of a reservation on how to create traditional beadwork with the help of the authentic examples of beadwork provided by the museum. Want to learn more? Visit the indigenous arts page https://denverartmuseum.org/collections/indigenous-arts-north-america

Congratulations to the Advisory Committee Reappointments

On Tuesday September 29th, the Board of County Commissioners took action to reappoint the three expired term Open Space Advisory Committee members. Congratulations and thank you to John Litz, Kathleen Staks and Sarah Gomach.

2020 National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort. This past Saturday, JCOS hosted 24 volunteers along the Clear Creek Trail where we were able to remove over 900 lbs. of trash, spread over 60 yards of crusher fines and trim back 1,024 feet of vegetation to improve line-of-site for our visitors. A huge shout-out to the Trails and Park Services Teams for keeping our volunteers safe and providing stellar leadership.

Now that you know how hard our dedicated Open Space staff, volunteers and partners work to make these parks such special places, the next time you see a Ranger, Park Host or Patroller, take a moment to say “thank you”. And don’t forget your mask!