Tag Archive for: PLAN Jeffco

Download your copy of the January ’25 newsletter here.

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A few years ago, Shaun Howard, who was the Jeffco Open Space Ranger lead at that time, wrote this post to help all Open Space Park visitors understand a little more about how to enjoy winter activities in the Parks. It’s time to republish as a reminder.

Our parks are “primitive” parks. Don’t expect the trails to be groomed for you. Make sure you have micro-spikes with you, just in case you need them. Be prepared for any type of weather, especially as you gain in elevation. Know before you go.

Temps have dropped and winter winds lick the landscape of the Jeffco Parks. Although the winter season has arrived, the parks are still great places to visit. Read on for essential winter safety tips.

Parking: Many believe winter is the “off” season in our parks. While visitor numbers may be less, on sunny winter days expect people to want to enjoy the outdoors. As with other seasons, if you find a full lot, be patient and wait for a legal parking spot, or better yet, look for less busy parks by downloading the mobile Lot Spot App https://www.jeffco.us/964/Parks. Additionally, winter storms may make park roads and lots impassable.

Avoid parks during snowstorms. Here are some tips if you arrive at a parking lot covered in snow:

• Lots may not have yet been plowed. Have good snow tires. Many park roads are on hills and vehicles often get stuck.
• Use respectful etiquette while staff are plowing. If you encounter a plow, give it room. A backing plow is likely to not see your vehicle. Try to park near other cars, so the plow can clear the rest of the lot.

Wildlife: The winter season is an especially difficult season for wildlife. It’s hard staying warm. When resources are scarce in winter, wildlife must conserve energy to survive, find food and stay warm. Please give wildlife distance, and especially leash your dog! Stress from off-leash dogs can cause wildlife to burn excessive calories which can end their lives. Additionally, look out for wildlife on roadways. With shorter days, vehicle collisions increase. Look for movement and eye-shine on the side of the road. If you see one deer/elk, more are in the area. Rather than flee, expect them to run in front of your car in a flurry of panic. Lastly, park curfew is an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset. Our wildlife are used to seeing visitors during the day. Give wildlife a break and respect park curfew hours. Additionally, risk of injury to you, and emergency responders increases greatly after dark. Plan accordingly. Be safe and respect wildlife, start visits early and be out of the park before sundown.

Dogs: Like the hot, dog days of summer, winter can also have safety impacts on dogs. Prevent dogs from running off by leashing them. Additionally, many dogs are not built for winter temps or icy trail conditions. Leave the dog at home during extreme conditions. For milder winter days, booties or salves that protect the dog’s feet are a must. As always, even in colder temps, make sure you and your dog are well hydrated. Bring water for both of you, and be sure to take breaks to drink.

Trail Conditions: Winter trails can range from icy to muddy. Deeper snow creates a harder workout while hiking. Additionally, snow-covered trails are harder to delineate. Bring a map and know where the trail is and do your best to prevent eventual vegetation damage by staying on the trail. Assume trails will be icy until spring. In icy conditions, trails are nearly impossible to negotiate safely. Wear micro-spikes or other traction devices. Front Range winters vacillate between warm to snowy. You might encounter muddy conditions when the trails melt in between storms. If you do, stick to the trail. Going off trail to avoid the mud increases vegetation damage and the unnecessary widening of trails. Remember, these boots were made for walkin’… through mud too!

Are you prepared? Park emergencies often occur from lack of preparation. For any venture in the Jeffco Open Space Parks, being prepared helps make a safer and enjoyable experience. Pack your bag with the 10 Essentials:

1. Map/Compass
2. Extra clothing (dress in layers, have a water repellent layer)
3. Extra food
4. Extra water (for both you and your dog)
5. Sun protection
6. Flashlight/headlamp (don’t rely on phone flashlight as phone batteries drain quickly, especially in the cold)
7. First aid kit
8. Matches/lighter (Be careful with fire and use ONLY if it’s an emergency and you need to stay warm overnight).
9. Tools or repair kit for any gear you are bringing (I use a multi-tool)
10. Emergency shelter (emergency blankets or even plastic bags make great emergency shelters)

I hope you take the opportunity to enjoy our Open Space Parks in winter! They truly are spectacular places to visit! Happy Trails!

Shaun Howard, former Ranger Lead, Jeffco Open Space

Miss Mountain Manners extends great thanks to Shaun Howard for her hard work and wise words on how to deal with winter weather in our beloved Open Space Parks.  And as always, fellow Park visitors, stay safe.

The post Take Notice — Winter Is Here! appeared first on PLANJeffco.

Typical outcrop of 1.4 billion year old granite in Alderfer/Three Sisters Park.

This article was initially published in 2014. Between then and now, the link to the full document was lost. Thankfully, we’ve just been able to recover a copy of the document, thanks to generous efforts by the USGS. We’ve embedded the document in our own library, for safekeeping. This repost will lead you to the full story of the geologic history of Jeffco’s Open Space Parks, as they were in 2014.

Jefferson County straddles one of the most conspicuous and important geographic and geologic boundaries in western North America, the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. To the east you can travel 1,100 miles across Great Plains and Central Lowlands before you sight the western foothills of the Appalachians. If you travel in the other direction you will cross or skirt mountain range after mountain range until you sight the Coast Range near San Francisco, more than 900 miles to the west. Many of these mountains have different ages and origins than the Colorado mountains, but they are all part of the great mountain belt called the North American Cordillera that extends along the western edge of the continent from Alaska through Mexico.

What is the reason for the remarkably straight and abrupt eastern flank of the Colorado Front Range? The brief answer is that it marks the edge of a block of ancient metamorphic and igneous rocks that has been uplifted relative to younger flat-laying sedimentary rocks that underlie the plains to the east. During the uplift, the sedimentary rocks along the boundary have been uplifted and tilted eastward to form the discontinuous line of hogback ridges that parallel the mountain front. Erosion during and after the uplift has removed the sedimentary rocks that once lay above the harder rocks of the mountain uplift, carved the scenic peaks and mountain canyons in the hard crystalline rocks of uplifted block, and worn away the softer layers of sedimentary rocks of the plains, but left a few of the harder upturned layers along the mountain front as hogback ridges.

Jefferson County Open Space Parks, as well as other nearby parks and National Forest lands, offer marvelous opportunities to explore the geologic story behind this singular landscape. At first the distribution of rocks of different ages and types seems almost random, but careful study of the rocks and landscape features reveals a captivating geologic story, a history that tells of the building of the foundations of the continent, the rise and destruction of long vanished mountain ranges, the ebb and flow of ancient seas, and the constant shaping and reshaping of the landscape in response to the never-ending interplay between uplift and erosion. This historical account is constantly being improved and expanded as new evidence accumulates and new interpretations evolve.

To read the rest, please download the full PDF.

The post Trails Through Time: A Geologist’s Guide to Jefferson County Open Space Parks appeared first on PLANJeffco.

In 1971, Carol Karlin conceived of the idea of buying large swaths of scenic mountain property to protect it from development and build trails for public recreation. Shortly thereafter, PLAN Jeffco was formed, and months later, the Jeffco Open Space program was voted into reality. Read the full story here.

Since that time, nearly 58,000 acres have been purchased by Jeffco Open Space, lands that have become Open Space Parks and that have been incorporated into local city and park & recreation district trails and playgrounds. But purchasing lands is not the only way to preserve open space.

Conservation easements, voluntary, legal agreements that permanently limit uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values, are instruments that have protected and preserved some 2.7 million acres in Colorado alone, a number that represents over 6% of private lands in the State.

On National Wildlife Day, September 4th, 2024, Colorado Open Lands* launched a presentation on the value of conservation easements and how they help preserve wildlife. One of the many land trusts in Colorado, COL alone is responsible for preserving over 686,000 acres of private land and over 3200 miles of waterways through 715 projects in 50 counties, all through conservation easements.

Open land and open space conservation is not just for human recreation. Open lands/open spaces are home to myriad feathered, furred and finned critters. They’re home base to hundreds (if not thousands) of species of plants and the insects that pollinate and feed off them. If these open spaces are not protected, if they are not conserved, what is to become of the natural inhabitants of these lands?

See for yourself how important conservation easements are – what they are and how they work. View the YouTube video here.

*In the interest of full disclosure, your webmaster is a member of the Clear Creek Advisory Board of Colorado Open Lands.

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