WAEI, the Wildland Awareness & Educational Institute, is the new kid on the block among organizations whose focus is to connect people, especially youngsters, to nature. Susanne and Bret Roller, former district wildlife manager for State Division of Wildlife and professional outdoorsman & guide, respectively, established WAEI in 2008 with the mission “to raise awareness […]
Save the Date: Saturday, November 16th, 2013 Plan Jeffco, with co-sponsorship from the Open Space Department and the Open Space Foundation, will be holding a conference November 16 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The conference will focus on “The Next 40 Years of Jeffco Open Space Conservation.” The conference will be on that Saturday morning, […]
The first fund-raising effort of Jeffco Outdoors was the Party for Parks, held April 5 at the Red Rocks Visitor Center. The event celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Denver Mountain Parks, the 40th Anniversary of the Jefferson County Open Space Program, and the 20th Anniversary of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). Jan Wilkins and Greg Stevinson […]
Author: Sally White Illustrations: Jan Ratcliffe Date: May 2013 Sparrows don’t quite do it for me: I look at them and I clearly see birds, normal birds, hopping on the ground looking for seed or flying around. But distelfinks are different. Distelfink, literally “thistle finch,” is a handy word still used by the Pennsylvania Dutch […]
May 3, 2013 Re: SB 13-258 Dear Governor Hickenlooper, PLAN Jeffco requests that you veto SB13-258. We are the group that initiated the Jefferson County Open Space Program in 1972 and worked on the Party for the Parks celebration that you recently attended. We oppose SB13-258, which is the proposed amendment that would result in […]
The Open Space Department has had an on-going, five-year program on making repairs and changes at Crown Hill Park. During the initial years of the program, the improvements were to the natural surface trails, where crusher fines were added to level the trails and make them more useable in wet weather. Beginning in 2013, the […]
The Board of PLAN Jeffco has opposed the proposed W 470 – Jefferson Parkway/Tollway primarily because of the potential for releasing plutonium contaminated soils, increased traffic on Hwy 93, increasing development in sensitive scenic areas and because traffic studies have continually shown that the Parkway would not alleviate traffic problems east of the proposed road […]
Author: Sally White Illustrations: Jan Ratcliffe Date: February 2013 Our world is surprisingly full of animals, even in our heavily developed areas. How does nature ensure that fullness? By paying a large price: excess. This annual tax often comes due in winter. Every student of nature stumbles upon and must come to terms with the […]
Sales tax revenue for 2013 is projected at 4% more than the actual revenue in 2011. The operating budget remains the same as 2012, plus small increases in cost allocations for County provided services. The budgeting for acquisitions was reduced by $1,000,000 and transferred to development to be used as matching funds for the GOCO […]
Date: December 2, 2012 Location: 240 Union: A Creative Grille, Lakewood, CO ANNIVERSARY BASH BEST EVER, TAKE OVER 240 UNION FOR THE NIGHT! It’s a rare occasion when so many supporters of Jefferson County Open Space come together in friendship and celebration, but that’s what happened at PLAN Jeffco’s 40th Anniversary Dinner & Fund-raiser. That Sunday evening, […]