Study Session:
A field trip to the Dog Off Leash Area and Elk Meadow Park. Open Space staff have made a number of changes to the access area to improve safety of the visitors and their pets. The Off Leach Area now is fenced from the parking area and is accessed through gates. Visitors are requested to not unleash their dog until through the gates. There still is some problem with improving the safety in crossing Stagecoach Road.
Regular Session:
Lisa and Shawn Kluesner, Natural Resource staff, made a presentation on citizen participation in collecting conservation data. Some of the programs have been in place for up to 20 years. The objectives are: identify – quantify – protect – monitor – engage – explore – share – learn:
Bird surveys – 2375 hours, 184 species
Raptor monitoring – 70 nests, 6100 hours in the last ten years, 61 volunteers
Nest watch – 141 nest boxes and snags, monitored weekly, 1600 hours, 41 volunteers
Frog watch – 12 parks, 776 hours, 41 volunteers
Bud Burst – 11 parks, 11plant species being monitored, 623 hours, 15 volunteers
Butterfly monitoring – 23 parks, 600 hours, 36 volunteers, 78 species
Thea Rock discussed the various types of social media and how Open Space is using it. Most important is that the Rangers are using Twitter to post current trail conditions – #jeffcotrails. Open Space posts videos to You Tube, photographs to Instagram, and general information to Facebook.
Joy Lucisano presented the quarterly Real Estate report. There are 50 open County acquisition proposals totaling almost 13,000 acres. Of these 29 (10,600 acres) are active with staff frequently contacting the owner and 21 are inactive as the present owner has no immediate interest.
There are 50 projects in the unincorporated areas of the County relating to leases, easements, and licenses. Thirty-one are active projects, many relating to potential trail routes.
There are 24 projects for cities and or recreation districts. The active projects are leases or easements; whereas the many of the inactive projects relate to potential acquisitions.
The Advisory Committee approved final terms for acquiring the Indigena and Laramie Ridge properties on the ridge between Coal Creek and Ralston Creek, West of Blue Mountain Estates. The acquisition consists of three parcels. A 344-acre in-holding in the acreage acquired from the Booth family in 2013, fee acquisition of a 619-acre parcel West of the in holding on which Open Space has held a conservation easement for about 15 years, and 113 acres on the North slope of the ridge. The sellers will retain a 10-acre portion of this latter property that contains the structures.
The properties scored very high in Master Plan values.
Natural Resources – 6 of 6: lots of meadows on South facing slopes
Nature-based experience – 5 of 5: significant opportunities for trails
Scenic Resources – 2 of 4: good views of the Front Range, plains, and Continental Divide
Contiguity & buffer – 3 of 3: abuts White Ranch on the South, Coal Creek properties on the North, plus Blue Mountain and Golden Gate State Park on the West
Congruity to other plans – 2 of 2: identified as open space in the North Mountain Community Plan
Historic, archeologic & paleontological – TBD of 2: Note that a wagon road from Boulder to Central City crossed part of the property
JCOS Staff Recommends Expansion of Coal Creek Canyon Open Space Park:
JCOS Staff recommends the purchase of the Indigena LLC property and the Laramie Ridge, LLC property for a total purchase price of $6,750,000. The acquisition of these properties will expand the Coal Creek Canyon Open Space Park by roughly 1,076 acres. … read more:
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