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 of natural resources and outdoor recreation, to cultivate tomorrow’s conservation leaders and to foster a sense of appreciation for the natural world through engaging young adults, women and families in the outdoors.” So what makes WAEI different from other organizations which seek to do very similar things? In interview, Susanne Roller stated that one of the unique features of WAEI is that they are not afraid to look outside the box for answers, to shift the paradigm from targeting youth alone to a three-pronged model: youth within the family structure; collegiate young adults; and women.

As Roller explained their philosophy, “…selecting targeted audiences where we can have the largest impact with the smallest number of resources in the shortest amount of time has become our obsession.” Using a methodical and diagnostic approach, WAEI sought to identify measurable objectives in their outdoor programs, and to determine if these objectives were being met. “If we ran a program,” said Roller, “we expected the program to result in new outdoor enthusiasts – new outdoor participants.”

In the process of measuring the success of their programs, WAEI ended up shifting focus from targeting youth only to targeting families, and also targeting college students. Even more surprising, targeting those with no predisposition for outdoor pursuits or activities has resulted in the greatest number of converts. Bret Roller explains this seeming dichotomy in the following way:

“If you think back to why the outdoors is important to you, we bet you can think of a place, an event, maybe a particular animal that sparked your interest. That touched your soul. It was unlikely that the event was born of being taught in a classroom about how an ecosystem functions or through reading a biology book. It was likely an [emotional and personal] experience and that is what we must provide. Through hands-on recreational experiences, the outdoor enthusiast is born. The hunter develops a connection that cannot easily be put into words for those that do not take up the hunt. The hunter becomes the voice for the habitat. The angler becomes the voice for our waterways. The birder becomes the voice for our riparian areas. The hiker becomes the voice for the landscape. This is what collectively we can all work towards.”

THE FAMILIES PROGRAM

With youth from toddler through about age 17, parental participation is the largest factor in whether or not a child continues in outdoor pursuits, says Roller. She also highlighted special age-related challenges they face. For instance, the challenge of youth ages 6 to 12 is that the family must be involved in outdoor activities in order for the kids to sustain their interest, while for the 12 to 17 set, the challenge is that they’d rather hang with their peers than with their folks. Circumventing challenges like this is a huge part of WAEI’s continuing program development.

Roller states that WAEI works with other organizations in the development, creation, and delivery of “Family Workshops,” full-day events where parents or care givers are required to participate in the activity with their youngsters. Before and after lunch there are multi-hour activities which might range from wildlife ID to hiking to camping to fishing to archery, and even to map/compass/GPS use and firearm safety. The next step is to then connect those families to our open spaces, allowing them to duplicate what they’ve learned in the WAEI programs: http://www.waei.org/courses/

THE COLLEGIATE PROGRAM

The collegiate program is one of WAEI’s most successful, and Roller’s favorite. The program sells itself; it provides one elective credit toward graduation at CSU and UNC while getting college students out of the classroom and into the outdoors – what’s not to love about a program like this?

Roller feels that this program has the most potential for positive impact, for two reasons: 1) the credit toward graduation brings in those who have no predisposition for the outdoors, thus breaking new ground in prospective supporters of Open Space; and 2) 98% of participants continue some form of recreation following the course, according to post-course surveys. Some 46% immediately purchase equipment, from archery to fishing to guidebooks, and seek out opportunities for continued participation, adding support to the outdoor recreation economy. These people vote, and they should become conservation-minded voters. The 700+ students who have gone through the WAEI collegiate program to date are part of the next generation of parents and leaders; it is WAEI’s hope that, following their exposure to the program, these students will become life-long supporters of conservation.

The growth of the collegiate program was what spurred WAEI to create their outdoor classroom. As Roller explained, WAEI recognized the need to create an outdoor space where students of all ages, from family groups to college students to adults, can come together with partner organizations such as JeffCo Open Space, to learn about the outdoors. Roller’s vision for the space is that it should be a place where restrictions do not inhibit the ability to fully teach about the outdoors, that it become the place where participants begin a life-long love affair with the outdoors. Once comfortable, the WAEI student can transfer skills learned to other public lands: http://www.waei.org/outdoor-workshops/college-students/

THE WOMEN’S PROGRAM

Currently, WAEI is doing oneday classes for groups of women (10 or more) on a request-only basis. Prior to the downturn in the economy, they were hosting two women’s weekends per year in a nationally-known program called “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman”, located at guest ranches around the state. Now, the cost of renting a guest ranch facility has put the fee out of the reach of most women. WAEI’s goal is affordability as well as education (and conversion to an outdoors-lover), so that every mom, teacher, grandmother, aunt, sister and female friend could take part in these retreats. WAEI is building its own outdoor classroom with support and recommendations from its partners on 60 acres in the Conifer area. Once this is complete, they plan to offer a robust women’s program at an affordable rate, and offer hands-on classes for large groups during weekends, in addition to hosting the growing collegiate program. The Greater Denver Area is home to more than 97,000 college students. Using this facility for their own programs, and making it available to other agencies and organizations that seek to connect youth and young adults to the outdoor world is a major goal of WAEI: http://www.waei.org/outdoor-workshops/becoming-anoutdoors-woman/

FUTURE CHALLENGES

Of all the challenges facing Open Space and its continuity through the coming decades, Roller sees a disturbing trend – age. According to research done by Roller, in 2008, the average age of outdoor enthusiasts is 55. It’s apparent that, as those folks hang up their hiking boots, they are not being replaced by younger users of the outdoors. Peter Kareiva, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, believes the lack of connection to the outdoors is today’s largest threat facing conservation. The most-numerous group of users should be within the 20 to 30 year-old range and it should replenish itself, meaning that, as individuals age, this group continues to be a major segment of those who enjoy the outdoors. This is not happening today.

Were replenishment of that critical age demographic to happen, then we could be assured that the children were connecting to nature. If, at age 20 and on their own, these folks were to become regular users of the outdoors, then we could breathe easy about the future of Open Space. So it fits within the mission of WAEI as they reach out directly to these age groups – the 20-year-olds in the colleges, who become immediate and life-long users of the outdoors, and the 30-45 year old parents with families. Their different approach to engaging youth in the outdoors may be the secret sauce that sustains Open Space for the next 40 years, or the next 100!

Partnershipe Make a Difference 100!

WAEI partnered with the Wildlife Management Institute, an organization founded in 1911, which hosts the national North American Wildlife and Natural Resource conferences, held annually. WMI helped to strengthen the evaluations and measures which WAEI uses to determine its impact and success. These measures, plus the research WAEI does when designing their programs, is the paradigm shift which sets WAEI apart from the crowd: http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/

WAEI attributes its success to the support and belief of its partners; working in partnership is key to making things happen. Partners include Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Safari Club International, John Fielder’s Colorado, National Park Service, USFS, USGS, numerous non-profits, Wyoming Game and Fish, and dozens more, all listed on the WAEI website: www.waei.org

The Challenges

The major environmental challenge in the beginning of the 20th century was species recovery. During the last quarter of the 20th Century, the challenge shifted to include land preservation and open space connectivity – shielding open space from suburban and exurban development while leaving wildlife corridors intact. The challenge for the beginning of the 21st Century lies in connecting and engaging youth to the outdoor world. If we fail, the end of the next 40 years of PLAN Jeffco will look vastly different than today – our society will be largely devoid of those that hold a land ethic at heart, who value our open spaces and public lands.

~ Susanne Roller, WAEI ~ 

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 were co-chairs of the 14-member organizing committee and another 70 volunteers.

From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. a new video on the benefits of outdoor recreation, open space and parks was shown continuously. Major hors d’oeuvres were served by Aramark, there was opportunity to bid on silent auction items, and a lot of time was available for conversation and to listen to bluegrass music by Dr. Harlan’s Amazing Bluegrass Tonic. At 8:00 p.m. there were remarks from Greg Stevinson, Governor Hickenlooper, the Denver City Council President, County Commissioner Don Rosier, and GOCO Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug.

These were followed by a live auction of six unusual items, and a separate paddle raiser event, to solicit funds for Jeffco Outdoors.

More than 250 supporters attended the event. Contributions from sponsors totaled more than $100,000 and the net from the event was more than $90,000.

All attendees received a copy of the first regional parks and open spaces map. This map covers the Bear Creek drainage, from Kittredge to Kipling Street and Apex Park on the North to Highway 285 on the South. Maps from the initial printing are available at the Open Space office. A second printing will allow maps to be available at other locations.

You can read more about Party for the Parks at https://www.co.jefferson.co.us/news/news_item_np _T9_R2977.htm. 

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 developers no longer being required to demonstrate that they have adequate water for their entire project prior to initial approval of their development proposal. This new legislation is to assist Sterling Ranch obtain approval for its proposed large rezoning because it had not demonstrated an adequate water supply at the time of rezoning. A Colorado District court judge ruled that because of this lack of compliance with existing law, the rezoning request for Sterling Ranch cannot be approved. Although this amendment was generated because of the Sterling Ranch decision in Arapahoe County, the amendment will have serious ramifications throughout the state and seriously weaken existing state law.

We have much open land in Jefferson County that this would apply to and we believe the final results of this proposal may be boon to many developers but will lead to serious problems for future land owners and all of the citizens of Jefferson County and the State of Colorado. The tax payers of the State of Colorado, 99% of whom are individual citizens, will end up footing the bill for foolish and ill-thought-out development projects, which will be allowed if this bill is signed into law.

We all know that we live in an area with scarce water resources and allowing a development to proceed piecemeal before there is a secure supply of water is something PLAN Jeffco opposes. Therefore, we ask that you veto this bill.

Sincerely,

Margot Zallen, Chairperson, Plan Jeffco 

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 nor would a toll road be financially viable in the long term. PLAN Jeffco has worked for years to support the preservation of the natural areas on Rocky Flats – Section 16 and the mountain backdrop and foreground are part of an ecosystem and wildlife migration route. As the years have passed, inadequate potential use of the toll way has continued to be the case as more of the land in the Northwest quadrant was preserved as open space and much of the potential commercially-industrially zoned lands are being developed for housing.

A beltway around Denver was drawn on maps in Washington, D.C. during the Eisenhower Presidency – the start of the Interstate Highway system. In most cases beltways do make sense, but when geography interferes they may not be practical. Cities adjacent to mountain ranges, lakes or oceans have developed close to those features leaving little or no room for the space required by a freeway. PLAN Jeffco participated in the Denver Regional Council of Government, (DRCOG) studies relating to Governor Lamm’s putting a “silver stake” through building C-470 to interstate standards. The funds saved were used to improve Santa Fe Drive from I-25 to C-470.

When W-470 was proposed with a small tax on each property each year, PLAN Jeffco attended many meetings, but did not participate in the election that defeated the proposal. As studies were conducted in the late 1990’s and 2000’s PLAN Jeffco was not surprised that estimated traffic counts continued to not justify such a route. This did not stop proponents of the Parkway as some wanted it to reduce the traffic on Wadsworth (the traffic studies showed the reduction would be minimal) and others wanted it to support commercial development along the route (only area left on the Parkway route is along Highway 72 between Indiana and Highway 93 and much of that has been rezoned residential.)

During the legislative process for designation of the former Rocky Flats nuclear facility to become a National Wildlife Refuge, the Parkway Authority lobbied to have a portion of the Rocky Flats site disposed of for transportation purposes so, it could construct a toll way. The bill authorizing transfer to the Fish and Wildlife Service for refuge purposes included permission for the sale of a 300-foot strip on the West side of Indiana Street for right-of-way.

Both Boulder County and Boulder City Governments for a long time had been opponents of the Parkway, because of the potential for additional development along Highway 93. They have made three expensive acquisitions along Highway 93 North of Highway 72. Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) has had an agreement with Lafarge to not exercise their mining lease on most of the state owned Section 16, just North of the Northeast corner of Highways 72 and 93. Section 16 and portions of the lands on the West side of Rocky Flats are home to relic Front Range Tall Grass Prairie. Less was spent on the Rocky Flats remediation than was appropriated, and some of these, Natural Resources Damages funds, were made available for land and mineral right acquisitions in the area.

After considerable negotiation, a complex agreement was reached and Boulder City and County dropped its opposition to the Parkway. The financial contributions were to be:

Parkway Authority: $2.8 Million, the appraised value of the right-of-way,

Natural Resources Damages funds: $3.3 million

JCOS: $5 million

Boulder City: $2 million

Boulder County: $2 million

Jefferson County: $ 0.1 million (CTF)

Other sources: $ 0.3 million

In exchange:

The Parkway Authority would get the right-of-way

The State Land Board would be paid $9.4 million for Section 16 surface and mineral rights

Lafarge would be paid $3.3 million to terminate their extraction leases on Sections 4 and 16.

$2.8 million would go to the to McKays for the mineral rights on Section 9 that would be transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service

The Rocky Flats Refuge would obtain Section 16 surface and mineral rights.

The Refuge would gain the mineral rights to1200 acres, which would allow including these acres within the Refuge.

This agreement left PLAN Jeffco’s Board with a dilemma. Conservation of Section 16 and the other land adjacent to the refuge had been high on our conservation list for many years and this agreement might be the last chance to achieve their preservation. But the price was removing another hurdle for the Parkway. The Board chose not to take a formal position, however, we did actively participate in the NEPA process and seriously questioned the lack of analyses in the Environmental Assessment and absence of an Environmental Impact Statement. Some of the information included in the final decision documents and relied on by the plaintiff’s in their legal challenges was included because of PLAN Jeffco’s efforts.

The original agreement was for the property transfers to close in the summer of 2012. The Town of Superior, City of Golden, and two environmental organizations brought suit taking the position that the Fish and Wildlife Service’s environmental review was not adequate and ignored the potential plutonium contamination, impact on wildlife, and the impacts of the traffic. The closing dates for the property transfers were moved, to by December 31, 2012.

The Federal District court ruled against Golden, Superior and the environmental plaintiffs on December 21, 2012. On December 24th the all the plaintiffs, except Golden, petitioned the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for an injunction preventing the land transfers and appealed the District Court decision. The injunction was granted on December 26th. However, on December 28th the Appellate Court set the injunction aside. The closings, listed above, took place on December 31st. The Town of Superior and the two environmental organizations’ appeal briefs are due on February 19, 2013.