On February 11, the Board of County Commissioners approved the 2014 Local Grants as recommended by the Open Space Advisory Committee. Funds for the grants come from the County share of Lottery proceeds and Open Space Sales Tax Funds. Non-profits, recreation districts, and cities are eligible to apply for grants. Grants from the lottery proceeds must be used on publicly owned lands. Approximately $1.2 million are available for these annual grants.

Grants to non-profits included:

Beaver Ranch Community, $10,125 for improvements to the caretaker residence at Conifer Community Park (Beaver Ranch.) The improvements include insulation, some mold remediation, kitchen renovation with new appliances, and a new water heater.

Evergreen Audubon Society, $5,475 for a sign at the entrance to Evergreen Lake Park, two mural panels, and two new exhibits.

Grants to Park & Recreation Districts and Cities included:

Apex Park & Rec. Dist., $225,000 to partially fund 8 pickle ball courts, restrooms, and shelters at the Simms Street Center ( at 82nd).

Columbine Knolls Rec Dist., $11,375 to partially fund improvements at Marker Park including new swing set, Freenote outdoor instruments, and a separate water line to the restrooms.

Evergreen Park & Rec Dist., $79,000 to partially fund replacement and expansion of the boardwalk along the lake and to hard surface the trail to the Nature Center.

Foothills Park & Rec Dist., $100,000 to partially fund replacement of the playground at the Ridge Recreation Center.

Ken-Caryl Ranch Metro Dist., $42,733 to partially fund replacement of the playground at the Community Park.

South Suburban Park & Rec Dist., $6,125 to partially fund a port-o-let enclosure at TrailMark Park.

City of Arvada, $55,000 to partially fund development of Griffith-Station Community Park, 52nd & Carr.

City of Golden, $223,788 to partially fund a trail along 44th Avenue between Golden and Salvia Street.

City of Lakewood, $100,000 to assist in remediation to Bear Creek Lake Park from the 2013 flood damage.

Five weeks after the Advisory Committee had recommended the Master Plan on January 9, a group from the “development community” expressed concerns to the Commissioners and testified at the February 11 Commissioner meeting where approval of the Master Plan was scheduled. The expressed concern was that they had not had time to review the maps. The Commissioners then delayed approval until they could convey specific concerns to Open Space. They were then invited by Tom Hoby to meet personally and that was declined. Tom then requested that they have comments to Open Space by February 24, prior to the March 6, OSAC meeting. The comments were received February 27.

One of the concerns was that some of the balloons surrounding areas containing rare plants and wildlife could be interpreted that all of the land within the balloon was potential for acquisition by Open Space. As such could impact property values and would be considered during rezoning. In actuality, the balloons were from the biodiversity study done by Natural Heritage Program at CSU and are used so that the exact location of the rare plant or wildlife is not shown. Also the Open Space Master Plan is never considered during a rezoning application.

A second concern was the ability of a land owner who did not want Open Space to consider their property, to have the Master Plan maps show exclusions. Open Space has had a policy since the 2008 Master Plan than any landowner could request that their property not be considered. Until this February, no land owner had requested exclusion. A statement to this effect is included in the 2014 Master Plan text. Since the maps are conceptual, staff and OSAC felt that showing these exclusions on a map would serve no purpose.

At the March 6, OSAC meeting language was added to the Master Plan explaining that the maps contained information relative to all of Jefferson County and that the Open Space Acquisition Criteria focus on land that usually is different than lands suitable for commercial and residential development.

At the Board of County Commissioners on March 18, one of the developers testified that there should be no policy of exclusion, and thanked Open Space for the language that they developed to meet his concerns. The person who asked to have his lands excluded thanked Open Space for agreeing to exclude his lands and to show this on the maps when they are finalized. The Commissioners then approved the Master Plan as presented by Open Space.

Website: gbbc.birdcount.org

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) results are in, and it was a success, with 144,109 checklists submitted, 4,296 different species observed, and 17,748,756 individuals birds counted between February 14-17, 2014!

Browse the results online on the National Audubon/Cornell website:

Results for Jefferson County (Colorado): Jefferson County

Hot Spots for Jefferson County, which includes a number of Jeffco Open Space Parks: Hot Spots for Jefferson County

Results for the nation and worldwide: National and Worldwide Results

The GBBC is one of the more popular projects run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, powered by thousands of citizen-scientists located in nearly every corner of the world. These citizen-science participants are part of one of the world’s largest research teams, gathering data on a scale that would be impossible to achieve otherwise. Scientists analyze these data to understand how birds are affected by environmental change, including climate change, urbanization, pollution, and land use. Participants learn about birds and have opportunities to see their own data on maps along with those of thousands of other participants.

The next Great Backyard Bird Count is scheduled for Friday, February 13 through Monday, February 16, 2015.

Bird watchers and enthusiasts can also check out the following bird projects:

Project eBird »

Count birds anytime, anywhere. A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

Other Citizen-Science Projects »

Find other citizen-science projects on the Cornell website.

Project FeederWatch »

Each year, 15,000 people count birds at their feeders for Project FeederWatch. With more than 1.5 million checklists submitted since 1987, FeederWatchers have contributed valuable data enabling scientists to monitor changes in the distribution and abundance of birds. Using FeederWatch data, scientists have studied the influence of nonnative species on native bird communities, examined the association between birds and habitats, and tracked unpredictable movements in winter bird populations. Participants gain from the rewarding experience of watching birds at their feeders and contributing their own observations to reveal larger patterns in bird populations across the continent.

Project NestWatch »

By finding and monitoring bird nests, NestWatch participants help scientists track the breeding success of birds across North America. Participants witness fascinating behaviors of birds at the nest and collect information on the location, habitat, bird species, number of eggs, and number of young. Scientists use these data to track the reproductive success of North American breeding birds across the continent. Launched in 2007 with funding from the National Science Foundation, NestWatch has collected more than 100,000 nesting records. Combined with historic data, this information will help scientists address how birds are affected by large-scale changes such as global climate change, urbanization, and land use.

Project Bird Cam »

By watching Bird Cams online, visitors from around the world enjoy live images and streaming videos of birds at their nests. Most recently, our Bird Cams have allowed viewers to follow the courtship, nesting, and chick-raising activities of Red-tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, and Osprey. Bird Cams are a unique learning experience for the study and appreciation of animal behavior, viewed by hundreds of thousands of people in more than 130 countries.

Project Celebrate Urban Birds »

Celebrate Urban Birds engages urban and rural residents in science, cultural, and community activities related to birds. Participants receive or download a free kit with posters, flower seeds, and data forms, then observe a small, defined bird-watching area for 10 minutes and report on the presence or absence of 16 species of birds. The project assesses the value of green spaces for birds, ranging in size from a potted plant to half a basketball court. Launched in 2007, Celebrate Urban Birds has partnered with nearly 5,000 community organizations and distributed more than 100,000 kits in English and Spanish. The National Forum on Children and Nature selected Celebrate Urban Birds as one of 30 nationally significant projects to connect children with the outdoors.

Project YardMap Network »

Now in Beta, the YardMap Network is an NSF-funded project that builds online communities to investigate the impacts of bird-friendly and carbon-neutral practices in backyards, community gardens, and parks. Participants will locate their yards or parks on a Google maps interface, then document their sustainable practices, such as adding native plants, putting up bird feeders, installing a solar panel, or biking to work. YardMap will serve as a detailed site description for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s citizen-science bird observations. By providing access to rich media resources for learning about sustainable practices and enabling people share their maps and practices with each other, YardMap strives to create online conservation communities engaged in real life sustainable practices. The YardMap Network will be tested and launched in 2011, in partnership with the National Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Empire State College’s online alumni program, and the American Community Gardening Association.

Educational Articles »

Learn more about local bird species in Jefferson County, Colorado on the PLAN Jeffco Articles that Educate page.