Today, Jefferson County Open Space Parks are being overwhelmed by all of us seeking respite from the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and seeking exercise and relief from restrictive directives. People are being turned away from full parking lots while our government leaders urge us to remain close to home.  With so many people passing each other on narrow sections of the trails, our required social distancing is being compromised.  This suggests maybe we should leave the car in the driveway (save gas), and just walk out the front door to streets that are wider than trails, making social distancing easier. Remember that even out in the “fresh air,” pathogens can infect when in close proximity to others. Moreover, heavy park use also presents a strong likelihood of resource damage, particularly in this transitional “mud” season. We could give our open space parks a break.

With the need for social distancing, and heavily-used parks, do you wish there was MORE open space to go around now?? Forget the current health crisis and think ahead just 10 years when projections add another 600,000 people to the current 3 million metro population. Will the current amount of open space meet our needs or will we feel as restricted and crowded as we feel now with the COVID-19 situation?  The present realities highlight the importance of open space for our physical and mental well-being. We need to encourage Jefferson County Open Space to be proactive in the promotion and financing of additional open space acquisitions to meet future needs.

For safety reasons there are no park volunteers to remind us of proper behaviors, leaving the staff rangers the near impossible task of trying to cover 56,000 acres, and 244 miles of trails by themselves. We must each take on the responsibility of honoring the rules.  PLAN Jeffco respectfully offers these guidelines and thanks everyone, not only for following them but also for your support via the ½ cent sales tax collected for Open Space at Jeffco businesses:

• Walk close to home.
• If you find the JCOS parking lot full, please move on to another park.
• Wear a mask.
• Stay on the trail whenever possible, while honoring social distances. Be careful where you step as there may be delicate new plant growth this time of the year, even snakes!
•  Observe park, trail or area closures.
• Take note of and avoid early plant growth.
• Visit at non-peak hours, such as before 9:00 AM and after 2:00 PM.
•  Follow guidelines posted at trailheads.

In general, practice the kindergarten rules: Be nice to others – and respect the land you are enjoying.

Jefferson County Open Space Parks are open and free to all. Even though they were already extremely popular prior to the CCOVD 19 crisis, they are now being overwhelmed on a daily basis by all of us seeking respite from our stay-at-home orders and seeking exercise and relief from restrictive directives. Children love the freedom that the parks provide, tending to frolic and rough-house in groups.  Furthermore, with so many people passing each other on narrow sections of the

Photo courtesy of CarbonFibrePhoto

trails, our required social distancing is being compromised.  Remember that even out in the “fresh air,” pathogens can infect when in close proximity to others.  Finally, the park parking lots are overflowing—every day!

This presents a strong likelihood of resource damage: How to enjoy our open spaces, yet give the wild denizens space, and preserve it all for those to who will come in the future.

For safety reasons there are no park volunteers to remind us of proper behaviors, leaving the staff rangers the near impossible task of trying to cover 56,000 acres, and 244 miles of trails by themselves. We must each take on the responsibility of honoring the rules.  PLAN Jeffco respectfully offers these guidelines and thanks everyone, not only for following them but also for your support via the ½ cent sales tax collected for Open Space at Jeffco businesses:

*If you find the parking lot overflowing onto the neighborhood streets, please move on to another park.

*Stay on the trail whenever possible, while honoring social distances. Be careful where you step as there may be delicate new plant growth this time of the year, even snakes!

* Observe park, trail or area closures.

* Uphill foot traffic has the right-of-way, although they may step aside, since it gives them a chance to rest.

* Take note of and avoid early plant growth.

* Visit at non-peak hours, such as before 11:00 AM and after 3:00 PM.

* Observe social distancing and follow guidelines posted at trailheads.

In general, practice the kindergarten rules: Be nice to others – and respect the land you are enjoying.

It’s been over six months since PLAN Jeffco’s historical files were accepted into the Denver Public Library’s Western History and Genealogy Department as part of the historical record of the development of the Denver Metro Area.

This all started in 1971, when the originators of PLAN Jeffco started documenting the process of developing an open space program for Jefferson County. In addition to newspaper clippings and internal documents, PLAN Jeffco Board members collected posters and brochures and all manner of external documents from the many and varied projects they were involved in.

In time, these clippings and documents found their way into the file cabinets of three current Board members. The question then rose, what to do with them? Coincidentally, about this time, Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Department, asked if they could be included in our newsletter distribution. Long story short, PJ and DPL entered discussions about the potential for the files being included in their archives. After a visit with the Library staff in which members of the Board brought samples to show what was available, DPL agreed that the entire archive of materials would be a valuable addition to their Western History collection.

John Litz took on the herculean task of combining the collections into a single, chronological file. After sorting, purging, and arranging, the files filled six 18-inch boxes. These were delivered to the Library in late May, 2019.  The Library staff cataloged the contents, creating a Finding Aid (Index) for each year. The Finding Aids for the 47 years total 14 pages. The files were officially gifted to the Library on July 19, 2019, and are identified for perusal and research as “PLAN Jeffco Records, WH2437.”

You can see and use these materials for research; they are available to the public but must be viewed in the Western History section of the library, 5^th floor.  https://history.denverlibrary.org/

Mountain Area Land Trust of Evergreen announced late last year, on December 12th, that it closed on “a 154-acre Conservation Easement on the Elk Meadow Ranch at Mt. Evans!  The property is located within the historic Evans Ranch in MALT’s Upper Bear Creek Priority Area.  Vance Creek runs through a majority of this scenic property providing for excellent wildlife habitat and a healthy forest ecosystem.  Appropriately named, the Elk Meadow Ranch is home to a large herd of elk as well as black bears, mountain lions, deer and a multitude of other wildlife.  Elk Meadow Ranch is adjacent to protected lands including the Mount Evans State Wildlife Area and a number of private voluntary land agreements.”

Separately on December 18th, the land trust announced closing on “a 52-acre Conservation Easement on the slopes of Conifer Mountain.  Known as The Sanctuary on Conifer Mountain, this voluntary land agreement will protect valuable open space and wildlife habitat in perpetuity.  In addition to forested land and rock outcroppings, a seasonal creek and wetland provide for a wide range of habitats on this now-protected property.  The Sanctuary on Conifer Mountain is highly visible from Highway 285 and its protection will preserve the scenic views on this highly-traveled corridor.  Kathy Estes and Rod Morgan are longtime supporters of MALT and are ecstatic to have left a conservation legacy with the donation of this easement!”

Founded in 1992, MALT is a nonprofit organization that primarily helps facilitate the conservation-easement process for private landowners. Since inception it has protected nearly 15,000 acres in Park, Jefferson and Teller counties.

For more information see SaveTheLand.org.

Land conservation and the ability to recreate in the great outdoors is important to Coloradans. We applaud the efforts of all our partner organizations.

It takes money to operate County services, and the Jeffco Fairgrounds is indeed a County service. Unfortunately, during last year’s voting season, the residents of Jefferson County failed to approve Ballot Initiative 1A, and now the County is strapped for cash. As a result, most County services have had their budgets reduced, and the Fairgrounds is on the chopping block.

Jeffco County is holding a meeting tonight, Tuesday January 28th, at the Fairgrounds, from 6-7:30PM, to identify and consider potential options to preserve those types of activities at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The meeting is open to the public for interested parties to attend and listen. PLAN Jeffco got 36-hour notice of the meeting so if you haven’t heard about this, you’re not alone.

If you or your group have an interest in the continued operation of the Jeffco Fairgrounds, please plan to attend. PLAN Jeffco will try to monitor the situation and keep informed.

For more about the county’s budget situation, please visit the Jefferson County website at www.jeffco.us and click on the link for the Financial Realities page.