Archive for year: 2021

Sylvia Brockner, author, long-time nature columnist for the Canyon Courier, co-founder of the Mountain Area Land Trust and the Evergreen Audubon Society, passed away on September 3^rd, 2021, just shy of her 102^nd birthday.

An Evergreen resident since 1965, she and her husband Bill, who pre-deceased her in 2008, founded the Evergreen Naturalists, which eventually became Evergreen Audubon. She was instrumental in founding the Evergreen Nature Center and in assisting Jeffco Open Space when they acquired the 319 acres of land that became Lair O’the Bear Open Space park.  She was a founding member of Mountain Area Land Trust in 1992 and fought to ensure that the wetlands north of the Evergreen Lake House weren’t destroyed when the building was constructed in 1993.

Sylvia was an avid writer, authoring a weekly column on birds, flowers, and the natural areas around Evergreen for the Canyon Courier for 45 years. She also authored two books on bird life and nature in the Colorado Mountains. The first one, published on January 1, 1974, titled Birds in Our Evergreen World: A Layman’s Guide to the Mountain Area, is still available in paperback at Amazon. The second book, Mountain Birds of Colorado: A Layman’s Guide to Birdwatching in Colorado’s Mountain Areas, published in 2017(?), doesn’t seem to be available from any online vendor at the time this article was written.

There is a video interview of Sylvia, done to celebrate her 100^th birthday, available on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/CVmxrc842mc

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to this pioneer of conservation and environmentalism.

PLAN Jeffco started with an idea that open spaces are vitally important to the health and welfare of all, and since 1972 has been building on that idea. Time brings change, and so PLAN Jeffco has had to consistently adjust as change occurs. 

PLAN Jeffco tries to keep its thumb on the pulse of the conservation community. Every month, as part of our regular Board meetings, there’s a “President’s Report”, which records the activities of various conservation groups that PLAN Jeffco feels are community leaders. We’ve decided to share as much of this information with you, dear reader, as we can, so that you can understand where we’re going, and why.

Conservation Smart Brief, August 26, 2021:

Recently posted to our website:

https://planjeffco.org/2021/07/29/open-space-update-july-2021

https://planjeffco.org/2021/08/11/dog-on-leash-its-so-important/

https://planjeffco.org/2021/08/20/theres-a-new-trail-in-town/

Clear Creek Gateway Segment Cable-cutting Ceremony

Wednesday 8/25, 4-6:30 PM. First parking lot, south side of 6^th Avenue, just west of the intersection of 6^th and Hwy-93. Following the cable-cutting, the Gateway Segment will be open to the public.

 

Jeffco Fairgrounds

https://www.jeffco.us/calendar.aspx?CID=27

Open for COVID testing. Events: CNGA Buyers Expo 8/28; Westernaires White Olympics Specialty Teams Show 8.29; Westernaires Tenderfoot Graduation 9/2; 4-H Ring Rides 9/9; Westernaires Junior Graduation 9/10; Honey Harvesting 9/11; 4-H Ring Rides 9/14; Westernaires Ticket Rally 9/15; Golden View Classical Academy Back to School Picnic 9/18; Safety in Faith Summit 9/23; 4-H Level Rating Day 9/25; Transportation & Construction GIRL Day 9/28.

Colorado Open Lands, https://coloradoopenlands.org/

Event: For Love Of The Land, Thursday evening 10/14/21.  Location: Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Keynote Speaker will be Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and former VP/Chief Curator of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. For more information and ticket purchase go to https://coloradoopenlands.org/the-q-for-conservation/.

Posted 7/27 on FB: 146 Acres in Costilla County PROTECTED!

Colorado Open Lands is happy to report that another 146 acres in Costilla County have been permanently protected! The Quintana Ranch gets its water from 3 acequias: the San Acacio, Island, and Francisco Sanchez. The protection of the Quintana Ranch is part of Colorado Open Land’s Acequia Initiative, which aims to conserve Colorado’s oldest agricultural community, keeping its unique acequia water rights intact to support its rich ecological and cultural heritage. The Ranch supports a modest cattle operation that is moved out in the spring and summer when the family hays the property. Cattle are not the only animals to spend time on the Ranch – many species utilize this critical wildlife corridor as they travel to and from the mountains in the spring and winter. Conservation of this property also protects the cultural fabric of acequia usage, local agriculture, a critical wildlife corridor, and the amazing viewsheds that exist within the acequia community.

Funding for the conservation easement came from the NRCS, GOCO, LOR Foundation, Gates Family Foundation, the Trinchera Blanca Foundation, and the Colorado Conservation Partnership. These partners have embraced COL’s conservation vision for the community and have been instrumental in funding the acequia work.

Want to learn more about acequias? Watch our brief video on COL’s work with acequias in the San Luis Valley (https://fb.watch/6VsZchz8vd/) or read more in our Spring Newsletter, pages 6 – 9 (https://wp.me/a69QVo-8Aj).

Posted 7/30 on FB: 58 additional acres in Lake County PROTECTED!

Colorado Open Lands, in partnership with the Central Colorado Conservancy and Lake County, has permanently protected an additional 58 acres of the Shawn Andrick Memorial Preserve in southern Lake County. This brings the Preserve to a total of 161.2 acres, showcasing 2 beautiful miles of the Arkansas River, which is a gold-medal trout fishery, and providing habitat for Bighorn sheep, elk, & beaver. Following a management planning process over the next year, the property will open to the public in 2022.

Posted 8/05 on FB:

What better combination than conservation and beer? Our friends at Root Shoot Malting are hosting an online auction to support Colorado’s agricultural and working lands, AND THERE ARE ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT TO BID! Proceeds from this auction will help make possible the conservation work between Colorado Open Lands and Olander Farms, who specialize in cultivating the highest quality local grain and craft malt available to the brewing and distilling industries. Check out the auction today!

Posted 8/06 on FB:

Colorado Open Lands recently worked with 5280 Magazine to feature two incredible families, both conservation partners working with COL: the Olanders of Root Shoot Malting and the Rices of Jodar Farms through Poudre Valley Community Farms. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/6zv83mvv.  

Posted 8/12 on FB:

Enjoy a time lapse video of our Riparian Reconnect restoration team installing a treatment on a Park County stream. This treatment mimics natural processes that help slow down the stream and spread out the water to support nearby wetlands and the wildlife that depend on them.  https://fb.watch/7zAH4nNm7Y/

Posted 8/17 on FB: Slumgullion Center permanently conserved!

COL, in partnership with the Lake Fork Valley Conservancy (LFVC), has permanently protected the Slumgullion Center property in Hinsdale County, between Lake San Cristobal and Lake City. This 58-acre property owned by LFVC comprises the toe of the Slumgullion Earthflow, an active landslide that moves as fast as 7 meters per year on the most active portions. It’s been slowly flowing down the mountainside for twelve hundred years!

The earthflow is recognized by scientists and government agencies as a site rich in research opportunity and of high conservation importance. Additionally, the Slumgullion Center property includes Lake Fork of the Gunnison River frontage and unique forest assemblages, as well as habitat for bald eagles, bighorn sheep, black bear, elk, mule deer, moose, and mountain lion. It’s also designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, and is visible from the Silver Thread National Scenic Byway and the Alpine Loop Colorado Scenic Byway.

Lake Fork Valley Conservancy intends to provide limited public access for passive recreation and education in the future. Their mission is to facilitate long term environmental sustainability in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison valley through collaborative and sustainable actions that foster land conservation, ecosystem health, and community resiliency.

The unique name, “Slumgullion,” comes from miners that used to live in the area. They said that the distinctive colors in the rocky debris looked just like the stews they fed themselves, which contained anything and everything they had in the kitchen at any one time.

 

Mountain Area Land Trust, https://www.savetheland.org/

Posted 7/28/2021: MALT received a generous grant through Great Outdoors Colorado – GOCO and the Colorado Youth Corps Association to support funding for outdoor recreation, stewardship and restoration projects at MALT’s property at Sacramento Creek Ranch near Fairplay. This collaborative project was recently completed by conservation service corps members. The goal of these funds is to employ youth and young adults (ages 14-25) throughout the state on critical outdoor recreation and natural resource stewardship projects using the network of conservation service corps accredited by Colorado Youth Corps Association.

Youth crews and chainsaw crew members from the Southwest Conservation Corps spent two weeks in July camping and working at Sacramento Creek Ranch. They completed a number of stewardship and trail projects on the property including removing and rebuilding beaver dams near the property’s bridge, weeding and bagging invasive weeds on the trail corridor and clearing downed and hazardous trees.

Generous funders and partners on this project: Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Youth Corps Association, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, South Park National Heritage Area, The Summit Foundation, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund.

Posted 7/29 on FB:

The Southwest Conservation Corps completed a number of projects at MALT’s property at Sacramento Creek Ranch over the past two weeks. Huge thank you for all the hard work! Grateful thanks to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for financial support for the MALT Youth Corps project.  Learn more, https://conta.cc/3ygLTLF

 

Keep It Colorado, Member Matters Newsletter, August 12, 2021, https://www.keepitco.org/

Study: Monitoring conserved lands from space pays dividends for land trusts

Keep It Colorado and the Land Trust Alliance partnered to publish a new study, “Remote Monitoring Technologies for Colorado Land Trusts.” The report outlines the experiences of 12 of our member land trusts that used remote sensing technologies – such as satellite and aerial imagery – to remotely monitor properties during the pandemic in 2020. In all, these land trusts monitored over 1,608,000 acres using these technologies.

A few interesting outcomes highlighted in the report include:

Seven of the 10 land trusts that provided cost data reported spending less money by using remote monitoring methods than they had when monitoring in-person the year before.

• Of the six land trusts that provided monitoring effort data, five users reported reductions of 46-83% in personnel hours needed to complete monitoring.
• Seven organizations avoided a total of more than 56,800 miles of travel by monitoring remotely, representing a gross reduction of 46,676 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
• Of the 12 land trusts in the grantee cohort, 42% say that moving forward, they will likely use remote monitoring to monitor a handful of properties each year, and 33% believe that remote monitoring will play a major role in stewardship efforts.

A conservation vision for the Arkansas Basin

A few of our members in the Arkansas Basin region have started a new kind of collaboration – the Arkansas Basin Conservation Alliance (ABCA) – with the intent to create a shared conservation vision for the region, explore new ways to work together and strategize on projects.

Over the past year, Keep It Colorado has facilitated conversations and provided a space where ABCA members could brainstorm collaborations, identify common priorities, and identify gaps and obstacles to making their vision happen. Based on their input, we’ve created a case statement that tells the story of conservation in the Arkansas Basin, with a goal of attracting additional investments in conservation across the region.

We’re pleased to say that the case statement is now published! In addition to having a new resource, ABCA members can share with funders and partners, the process itself has served as a useful blueprint for Keep It Colorado’s statewide private lands conservation plan and the listening tours we’ll be scheduling to collect member input from across the state.

In-person regional meetings: It’s a wrap

Keep It Colorado staff have had the enormous pleasure of traveling across the state this summer to visit with our members in person. In total, 70 members have joined us for meetings in Golden, Salida, Carbondale and Montrose. It’s been an incredible opportunity to hear from all of you about your organizations’ conservation priorities, organizational priorities, challenges and opportunities – and we enjoyed the chance to share some of our updates as well.

For us, the best part about these meetings was getting to connect with folks in person (it’s been a long time coming!). We also thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get out on the land, visit some conserved properties and learn first-hand how this work is impacting local communities. A huge thank-you to all who participated!

Last but not least, we extend a special thanks to our members that organized tours and visits: Jefferson County Open Space, Central Colorado Conservancy, Aspen Valley Land Trust and Colorado West Land Trust.

Register now for Fall Policy Summit

We’re pleased to host our annual Fall Policy Summit in partnership with Colorado Open Space Alliance (COSA)’s annual conference in Vail! Please read below for special registration options for our members.

Date, time and location: Wed., Oct. 13
7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1300 Westhaven Drive, Vail, Coloradofund

Note that we’re currently planning this event to be in-person, and will also be offering the option to attend virtually. As COVID infections continue to surge, we recognize a need to stay flexible, so will be closely monitoring state and local guidelines around vaccinations, masks and social distancing, and will be prepared to make adjustments as needed over the coming months. In the meantime, we hope you’ll plan to attend this important annual convening.

Registration is now open. The Fall Policy Summit is FREE for all members of Keep It Colorado – you must use our special promo code to register. Additionally, for our non-open space agency members (i.e. land trusts and conservation champions), COSA is offering discounted registration to the rest of COSA Oct. 11-12. Early pricing ends Aug. 31.

Learn more, get the promo code, and get the link to register here.

Funding Opportunities

In September, Keep It Colorado will launch Round 2 of our regrant program, the Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP), for member organizations that have identified ready-to-go conservation projects that will ideally be ready to close by the end of March 2022. This program assists conservation easement holders in covering the costs of transactions associated with conservation easements – enabling landowners who have “ready-to-go” opportunities to conserve their properties, but who face financial barriers to facilitating the transaction, to conserve more land more quickly.

Here’s the fall cycle calendar:

RFP Posted – Mon., September 20
Proposal Deadline – Thurs., October 14
Proposal Review Period – Mon., October 18-Fri., October 29
Grant Awards – Mon., November 1
Earliest Award Payments – Mid to late November

In the meantime feel free to check out these materials:

Transaction Cost Assistance Program Outline

Frequently Asked Questions [NEW]

Last spring, Keep It Colorado re-granted $269,900 to land trusts that plan to close conservation projects this fall. Those projects are expected to help conserve more than 3,800 acres of land and leverage more than $1.7 million in tax credits through the state’s conservation easement tax credit program. We’re excited to continue the momentum of this unique and innovative program for our members!

Stewardship projects in 2022

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is now accepting project applications for its 2022 volunteer season. VOC offers nearly 40 years of experience in outdoor stewardship project management, working effectively to mobilize volunteers of all ages in accomplishing landscape-scale challenges.

It welcomes both new and returning partners interested in leveraging prepared, skilled volunteers in fulfilling on-the-ground project deliverables while building broad support for Colorado’s lands and waterways.

VOC is encouraging applicants to apply by September 15 to allow ample time for scouting and planning, especially for projects in the high country where snow may hinder these efforts.

Non-motorized and LWCF grant cycles

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has announced the opening of the 2022 Non-Motorized and LWCF Grant Cycles. This year’s application deadline for both grant cycles is Monday, October 4.

Non-Motorized Trail Grants
To continue its goal to improve trail recreation opportunities while protecting wildlife, habitat, and cultural resources, CPW is offering three categories for this year’s Non-Motorized Trails Cycle: Construction, Maintenance, and Planning/Support (maximum award of $250,000 in each category).

Land and Water Conservation Fund Grants
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant cycle has a separate grant application for projects to acquire, develop, and maintain public lands for outdoor recreation to improve quality of life and the health and vitality of present and future generations. LWCF requires 100% matching funds and can only be awarded to local, state, or tribal governments. The maximum request for this year’s cycle is $1,250,000 and the minimum request is $100,000. Learn more about the LWCF program.

Wildlife Review Process
To help address potential wildlife impacts in their applications, all potential Non-Motorized or LWCF applicants must contact the corresponding Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager by Tuesday, September 7 to discuss their project. Email a basic project scope and site map to both the appropriate Area Wildlife Manager (contact information can be found here) and trails@state.co.us by that date to be eligible for project review and scoring. Guidance on addressing wildlife impacts for trail projects can be found here.

In addition to information found on the website, CPW will be hosting two webinars to go over application requirements and answer commonly asked questions.

To register for a webinar, click on a link below:

August 10, 2021 11:00 AM

August 18, 2021 2:00 PM

Jefferson County – Climate Action Plan: Partner with Jeffco

2020 Sustainability Commission Achievements.  https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/26902

Jefferson County – COVID-19 Updates

https://www.jeffco.us/3999/Coronavirus-Disease-2019-COVID-19

Denver – Park Hill Golf Course and Growth 

Colorado’s urban open space past haunts the future of development and community life…from Park Hill Golf to Westminster Farm to the Stock Show grounds, neighbors demand much from rebuilding of spaces they feel ownership in, while developers say there’s only so much they can do.

https://coloradosun.com/2021/08/01/colorado-open-space-battles/

Get the latest news about Denver’s Park Hill Golf Course at https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Departments/Community-Planning-and-Development/Plans-in-Progress/Park-Hill-Golf-Course

 

Gross Reservoir Lawsuit

Denver Water was warned about unanswered questions on Gross Reservoir permit request. Environmentalists, activists and climate experts anticipated that Denver Water would sue Boulder County over the utility’s $464 million proposal to expand the Gross Reservoir. They just didn’t think it’d be so soon. The utility filed its federal lawsuit July 14, claiming commissioners are taking too long to consider its application for a 1041 permit needed to break ground on the five-year-long project southwest of Boulder. Read more here.

Climate Change Articles of Interest

High Country News, August 2021: https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-change-who-should-pay-for-climate-mitigation-colorado-looks-to-the-oil-industry

 

Jeffco Open Space Volunteer Program

Slash Collection Calendar – https://www.jeffco.us/2493/Slash-Collection

1.     Sat Aug. 28 – Sun Aug. 29

SLASH Collection: August 28-29 @ Evergreen Fire District – Station 8

2.     Sat Sep. 4 – Sun Sep. 5

SLASH Collection: September 4-5 @ Wagon Wheel Open Space

3.     Sat Sep. 11 – Sun Sep. 12

SLASH Collection: September 11-12 @ Settlers Drive Property

4.     Sat Sep. 18 – Sun Sep. 19

SLASH Collection: September 18-19 @ Blue Mountain Open Space

5.     Sat Sep. 25 – Sun Sep. 26

SLASH Collection: September 25-26 @ Jeffco Shaffer’s Crossing Road & Bridge Shop

1.     Sat Oct. 2 – Sun Oct. 3

SLASH Collection: October 2-3 @ Beaver Ranch Park

2.     Sat Oct. 9 – Sun Oct. 10

SLASH Collection: October 9-10 @ Beaver Ranch Park

3.     Sat Oct. 16 – Sun Oct. 17

SLASH Collection: October 16-17 @ Mount Vernon Country Club

4.     Sat Oct. 23 – Sun Oct. 24

SLASH Collection: October 23-24 @ Jeffco South Road & Bridge Shop

5.     Sat Oct. 30 – Sun Oct. 31

SLASH Collection: October 30-31 @ Thunder Valley

 

RSS Feeds

The following conservation organizations now have RSS feeds at the bottom of each of our own PLANJeffco web pages, so you can follow their postings at any time…

Douglas Land Conservancy, https://douglaslandconservancy.org/

Land Trust Alliance, www.lta.org

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, https://www.birdconservancy.org/  

 

And there you have it. This is part of what we do, who we follow, what we’re interested in, because Conservation just doesn’t happen by itself…it takes a community to make it work. And as always, stay well, stay safe, be conservation-minded at all times.

 

In the early summer of 2021 a tiny, 10-month-old cockapoo disappeared while hiking with her family in the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area near Aspen. “Bella” was not on lead; she was walking with her human and canine family when something caught her attention and she wandered off-trail. By the time anyone noticed that she was missing, she’s wandered into the woods and was lost.

For the next 4 weeks Bella somehow managed to stay alive, eating whatever she could find, drinking out of rainwater pools and streams, and hiding — hiding from humans and from predators that would have gladly had her for lunch. She was in survival mode, terrified of everyone and everything, focusing only on staying alive from one day to the next.

And then the near-impossible happened, she was found by a human passer-by who possessed the skills and intuition that it took to coax a terrified little dog (by that time she had lost half her body weight and was down to 4 pounds) into the safety of his car. Bella was safely reunited with her people. The wounds she’d received during her month-long sojourn in the wild were tended to, and she returned home to safety.

This story had a happy ending, but happy endings where lost dogs are concerned are not the norm. By some estimates, under the very best of circumstances, only 1 in 5 lost dogs are ever reunited with their people. When a dog is lost in a wilderness area, the statistics can plummet.

Jefferson County Open Space has a regulation concerning dogs in the parks — they’re to be kept on lead and attached to their humans at all times. They’re not allowed to run loose, they’re not allowed to chase wildlife, they’re not allowed to chase other park visitors. This regulation is not meant to be “mean”, it’s meant to ensure that your fur-buddy doesn’t end up as another “Bella”, with an 80%+ chance of never being seen again.

Avoid the heartbreak of loosing your best friend; stay connected. Stay safe. Both of you.

 

 

Let’s see what JCOS has been up to in the month of June…

ALDERFER/THREE SISTERS PARK, WEST TRAILHEAD – MOUNTAIN LION KILL SITE

A park visitor alerted Ranger Billy Hall to an Elk carcass in the meadow near Silver Fox Trail. When Billy inspected it, it was covered with dead grass, a sure sign of a mountain lion kill site. According to the Santa Cruz Puma Project (UC Santa Cruz and CA Fish & Game), here are some additional ways to discern a mountain lion kill: Lions tend to eat the chest-area organs first (lungs, heart, liver). Lions remove the stomach (called the rumen) when they first open the chest cavity and bury it a few feet away from the body.  This prevents stomach acids from spoiling the meat over the 3-5 days it will take the lion to finish eating. Lions will nip or “shave” the hair off the body with their incisors before they start chewing into it.  Think of a surgeon shaving the patient before cutting.  The clumps of nipped hair are about 1” across – the distance between the lion’s canine teeth.

BEAVER RANCH PARK TRAIL CONSTRUCTION

Development of Beaver Ranch Park is moving ahead on schedule. The Trails Team used the new dozer to cut 1,100 feet of trail in one afternoon.

CENTENNIAL CONE PARK – RAMSTETTER ACQUISITION

JCOS completed the purchase of the 58-acre Ramstetter property this week!  The northernmost portion of the property can be seen from Golden Gate Canyon Road & Centennial Cone Park, and is part of a broader preservation effort planned for the Park and the Douglas Mountain Study Area.  This acquisition is a strategic priority to ensure the viewshed to and from the property is preserved.

CLEAR CREEK CANYON GATEWAY SEGMENT

The Buildings & Historic Sites Team fabricated the steel hand railing along the stairs that the Trails Team constructed. The Trails Team cautiously removed large amounts of poison ivy and began trail construction to connect the Gateway Trailhead to the Creek access points. The BHS Team continues to put the finishing touches on the restroom. Opening ceremonies are planned for the end of August…

CLEAR CREEK CANYON PARK, BIG EASY TRAILHEAD – PROTECTING THREATENED SPECIES

JCOS contractors completed the installation of metal railing at two locations within the Big Easy trailhead. The railing protects the federally threatened Ute ladies’ tresses (Spiranthes diluvialis), growing near the ADA picnic shelter, and discourages visitor shortcutting across riparian habitat on the south side of the parking lot.

CLEAR CREEK CANYON, COLLABORATIVE RESCUE

In the second week of June a call came through Jeffcom Dispatch for two critical female patients who were each struck by rockfall at the Highwire Crag in Clear Creek Canyon Park.  Rangers Krause, Joyce, Holzman, and Dargatz all responded to the scene and assisted in various aspects. The operation consisted of a low-angle belayed litter, with three litter attendants from Golden and West Metro Fire Departments tied in, near the entrance of Tunnel 2. Golden Fire also utilized a ladder truck to transfer the patient, and then lower the ladder with the patient to the ground, where a Flight for Life helicopter sat waiting on Highway 6 to transport the most critical patient to the hospital by air. JCOS Rangers were among the eight agencies that assisted in this rescue.  Great job by all!

HIWAN HERITAGE PARK

The BHS Team fabricated and installed a new chimney cap on the Hiwan Museum.

NORTH TABLE MOUNTAIN, GOLDEN CLIFFS TRAILHEAD – RATTLESNAKE AT THE RESTROOM

Thanks to the sharp eyes and quick action of Park Services Specialists Chad Vidas and Steven Fernandez, a potentially dangerous situation was averted.  After spotting this three-foot rattlesnake near the door of the Golden Cliffs restroom, they called Jeffcom non-emergency and alerted visitors to the danger while they waited for a trained Animal Control officer to collect and move the snake to a safer location (for people and snake) in the Park. Photos are courtesy of artist and photographer, Chad Vidas.

RATTLESNAKE ACTIVITY SEASON IS HERE!

The 2021 rattlesnake activity season is off to a severe start.  There have been two reported bites to dogs at North Table Mountain Park, one bite to a park visitor at East White Ranch Park, and numerous reports of snakes parked on or next to busy trails.  Please be aware of your surroundings and, when you have the chance, be sure you are sharing our most important rattlesnake safety messages: stay on authorized trails, wear closed-toe shoes, keep one earbud out, and always keep dogs on a leash.  These behaviors do not completely prevent bites, but they go a long way toward mitigating the risk of a bite.  If you encounter a snake, give it space and time to leave the area.  Do not approach it, poke it, throw things at it or attempt to move it.

PILOT PROGRAM OFFERS DISCOUNTED LYFT FARES TO FOUR OF JCOS’ BUSIEST TRAILHEADS

Jeffco Open Space (JCOS) is excited to announce a pilot program giving park visitors the opportunity to take advantage of reduced fares from rideshare company Lyft, in hopes of helping with parking congestion at four of our busiest Front Range trailheads and access points.  The pilot program will serve North Table Mountain Park – West Trailhead, South Table Mountain Park – Camp George West Trailhead, South Table Mountain Park – Golden Hills Access and White Ranch Park – East Trailhead.  Beginning June 28 through December 31, Lyft users can take advantage of a $2.50 reduction in their fare each direction.  Discounts will be valid during park hours, seven days a week, to the four locations listed above.  https://www.jeffco.us/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1592

WINDY SADDLE PARK, BEAVER BROOK TRAIL SEARCH & RESCUE

Jeffco Open Space Rangers were involved in a search and rescue operation on the Beaver Brook Trail in early June. All ended well when the young man was found, safe and sound.

SUMMER TRAIL COURTESY EDUCATION CAMPAIGN AT FRONT RANGE TRAILHEADS

Jeffco Open Space (JCOS) is partnering with City of Lakewood, Gilpin County and Clear Creek County land managers and FRONT (Front Range Optimized and New Trails) to provide informal trail courtesy education pop-ups at select trailheads this summer.  Specific topics will include passing on trails, sharing the trail, pet safety and management, and minimizing visitor impact.  The pop-ups will be staffed by paid marketing professionals who also love trails.  JCOS staff provided basic training that included key stewardship messages, basic incident response and trailhead behavior expectations.  You will see the FRONT pop-ups at Apex, North Table Mountain (west trailhead) and White Ranch (east trailhead) Parks.   The first JCOS pop-up will be this weekend at Apex (June 12-13). This effort will continue through September 26.

2022 Trails Partnership Program

Applications for the 2022 Trails Partnership Program are now available.  The purpose of the Trails Partnership Program is to provide financial support to partners seeking to meet the goals of the Jeffco Trails Plan: improve safety, provide equitable access, and increase connectivity of Jefferson County trails or greenspaces.  Applications are due on September 20 with expected January 2022 funding.  Anyone who manages public land and/or provides public park and recreation services in Jefferson County and has a construction-ready project is eligible to apply. Check out the website at https://www.jeffco.us/4138/Trails-Partnership-Program and the Info Sheet for more details on the application process or contact Trails Program Manager, Rachel Brenna rbrenna@co.jefferson.co.us, with any questions.

Colorado Front Range Trail (CFRT)

The CFRT Feasibility Study was kicked off the end of June in order to identify an alignment completing the regional trail connector through northern Jefferson County. Over the next year, the study will evaluate several alignment alternatives between North Table Mountain and the Boulder County line to identify a safe, enjoyable, and constructable trail connection for both community and regional use. The study is made possible through strong support from several area partners including DRCOG, City of Arvada, the Trust for Public Land, and CDOT. We are so excited to be leading these efforts in helping to improve safe access to recreation along the Front Range!

Burro Patrol – A New Way to Volunteer

The Burro Patrol is a pilot program to utilize specially trained adult volunteers that lead youth and pack burros in public outreach, education, and stewardship projects. They will help by collecting and packing out trash/cleanup bags in hard-to-reach areas with the hope of being a visible presence in parks.  The educational expectation will be to interact with visitors around trail courtesy and the importance of sharing the trail.

Miss Mountain Manners wants to let everyone at JeffCo Open Space know how proud we at PLAN Jeffco are of the terrific work that they’re doing. The next time you’re in one of our Parks and you see a JCOS Staffer or Volunteer, introduce yourself and say “thank you”.