PLAN Jeffco started with an idea that open spaces are vitally important to the health and welfare of all, and since 1972 has been building on that idea. Time brings change, and so PLAN Jeffco has had to consistently adjust as change occurs.
PLAN Jeffco tries to keep its thumb on the pulse of the conservation community. Every month, as part of our regular Board meetings, there’s a “President’s Report”, which records the activities of various conservation groups that PLAN Jeffco feels are community leaders. We’ve decided to share as much of this information with you, dear reader, as we can, so that you can understand where we’re going, and why.
Conservation Smart Brief, August 26, 2021:
Recently posted to our website:
https://planjeffco.org/2021/07/29/open-space-update-july-2021
https://planjeffco.org/2021/08/11/dog-on-leash-its-so-important/
https://planjeffco.org/2021/08/20/theres-a-new-trail-in-town/
Clear Creek Gateway Segment Cable-cutting Ceremony
Wednesday 8/25, 4-6:30 PM. First parking lot, south side of 6th Avenue, just west of the intersection of 6th and Hwy-93. Following the cable-cutting, the Gateway Segment will be open to the public.
Jeffco Fairgrounds
https://www.jeffco.us/calendar.aspx?CID=27
Open for COVID testing. Events: CNGA Buyers Expo 8/28; Westernaires White Olympics Specialty Teams Show 8.29; Westernaires Tenderfoot Graduation 9/2; 4-H Ring Rides 9/9; Westernaires Junior Graduation 9/10; Honey Harvesting 9/11; 4-H Ring Rides 9/14; Westernaires Ticket Rally 9/15; Golden View Classical Academy Back to School Picnic 9/18; Safety in Faith Summit 9/23; 4-H Level Rating Day 9/25; Transportation & Construction GIRL Day 9/28.
Event: For Love Of The Land, Thursday evening 10/14/21. Location: Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Keynote Speaker will be Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and former VP/Chief Curator of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. For more information and ticket purchase go to https://coloradoopenlands.org/the-q-for-conservation/.
Posted 7/27 on FB: 146 Acres in Costilla County PROTECTED!
Colorado Open Lands is happy to report that another 146 acres in Costilla County have been permanently protected! The Quintana Ranch gets its water from 3 acequias: the San Acacio, Island, and Francisco Sanchez. The protection of the Quintana Ranch is part of Colorado Open Land’s Acequia Initiative, which aims to conserve Colorado’s oldest agricultural community, keeping its unique acequia water rights intact to support its rich ecological and cultural heritage. The Ranch supports a modest cattle operation that is moved out in the spring and summer when the family hays the property. Cattle are not the only animals to spend time on the Ranch – many species utilize this critical wildlife corridor as they travel to and from the mountains in the spring and winter. Conservation of this property also protects the cultural fabric of acequia usage, local agriculture, a critical wildlife corridor, and the amazing viewsheds that exist within the acequia community.
Funding for the conservation easement came from the NRCS, GOCO, LOR Foundation, Gates Family Foundation, the Trinchera Blanca Foundation, and the Colorado Conservation Partnership. These partners have embraced COL’s conservation vision for the community and have been instrumental in funding the acequia work.
Want to learn more about acequias? Watch our brief video on COL’s work with acequias in the San Luis Valley (https://fb.watch/6VsZchz8vd/) or read more in our Spring Newsletter, pages 6 – 9 (https://wp.me/a69QVo-8Aj).
Posted 7/30 on FB: 58 additional acres in Lake County PROTECTED!
Colorado Open Lands, in partnership with the Central Colorado Conservancy and Lake County, has permanently protected an additional 58 acres of the Shawn Andrick Memorial Preserve in southern Lake County. This brings the Preserve to a total of 161.2 acres, showcasing 2 beautiful miles of the Arkansas River, which is a gold-medal trout fishery, and providing habitat for Bighorn sheep, elk, & beaver. Following a management planning process over the next year, the property will open to the public in 2022.
Posted 8/05 on FB:
What better combination than conservation and beer? Our friends at Root Shoot Malting are hosting an online auction to support Colorado’s agricultural and working lands, AND THERE ARE ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT TO BID! Proceeds from this auction will help make possible the conservation work between Colorado Open Lands and Olander Farms, who specialize in cultivating the highest quality local grain and craft malt available to the brewing and distilling industries. Check out the auction today!
Posted 8/06 on FB:
Colorado Open Lands recently worked with 5280 Magazine to feature two incredible families, both conservation partners working with COL: the Olanders of Root Shoot Malting and the Rices of Jodar Farms through Poudre Valley Community Farms. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/6zv83mvv.
Posted 8/12 on FB:
Enjoy a time lapse video of our Riparian Reconnect restoration team installing a treatment on a Park County stream. This treatment mimics natural processes that help slow down the stream and spread out the water to support nearby wetlands and the wildlife that depend on them. https://fb.watch/7zAH4nNm7Y/
Posted 8/17 on FB: Slumgullion Center permanently conserved!
COL, in partnership with the Lake Fork Valley Conservancy (LFVC), has permanently protected the Slumgullion Center property in Hinsdale County, between Lake San Cristobal and Lake City. This 58-acre property owned by LFVC comprises the toe of the Slumgullion Earthflow, an active landslide that moves as fast as 7 meters per year on the most active portions. It’s been slowly flowing down the mountainside for twelve hundred years!
The earthflow is recognized by scientists and government agencies as a site rich in research opportunity and of high conservation importance. Additionally, the Slumgullion Center property includes Lake Fork of the Gunnison River frontage and unique forest assemblages, as well as habitat for bald eagles, bighorn sheep, black bear, elk, mule deer, moose, and mountain lion. It’s also designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, and is visible from the Silver Thread National Scenic Byway and the Alpine Loop Colorado Scenic Byway.
Lake Fork Valley Conservancy intends to provide limited public access for passive recreation and education in the future. Their mission is to facilitate long term environmental sustainability in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison valley through collaborative and sustainable actions that foster land conservation, ecosystem health, and community resiliency.
The unique name, “Slumgullion,” comes from miners that used to live in the area. They said that the distinctive colors in the rocky debris looked just like the stews they fed themselves, which contained anything and everything they had in the kitchen at any one time.
Posted 7/28/2021: MALT received a generous grant through Great Outdoors Colorado – GOCO and the Colorado Youth Corps Association to support funding for outdoor recreation, stewardship and restoration projects at MALT’s property at Sacramento Creek Ranch near Fairplay. This collaborative project was recently completed by conservation service corps members. The goal of these funds is to employ youth and young adults (ages 14-25) throughout the state on critical outdoor recreation and natural resource stewardship projects using the network of conservation service corps accredited by Colorado Youth Corps Association.
Youth crews and chainsaw crew members from the Southwest Conservation Corps spent two weeks in July camping and working at Sacramento Creek Ranch. They completed a number of stewardship and trail projects on the property including removing and rebuilding beaver dams near the property’s bridge, weeding and bagging invasive weeds on the trail corridor and clearing downed and hazardous trees.
Generous funders and partners on this project: Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Youth Corps Association, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, South Park National Heritage Area, The Summit Foundation, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund.
Posted 7/29 on FB:
The Southwest Conservation Corps completed a number of projects at MALT’s property at Sacramento Creek Ranch over the past two weeks. Huge thank you for all the hard work! Grateful thanks to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for financial support for the MALT Youth Corps project. Learn more, https://conta.cc/3ygLTLF
Keep It Colorado, Member Matters Newsletter, August 12, 2021, https://www.keepitco.org/
Study: Monitoring conserved lands from space pays dividends for land trusts
Keep It Colorado and the Land Trust Alliance partnered to publish a new study, “Remote Monitoring Technologies for Colorado Land Trusts.” The report outlines the experiences of 12 of our member land trusts that used remote sensing technologies – such as satellite and aerial imagery – to remotely monitor properties during the pandemic in 2020. In all, these land trusts monitored over 1,608,000 acres using these technologies.
A few interesting outcomes highlighted in the report include:
Seven of the 10 land trusts that provided cost data reported spending less money by using remote monitoring methods than they had when monitoring in-person the year before.
- Of the six land trusts that provided monitoring effort data, five users reported reductions of 46-83% in personnel hours needed to complete monitoring.
- Seven organizations avoided a total of more than 56,800 miles of travel by monitoring remotely, representing a gross reduction of 46,676 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
- Of the 12 land trusts in the grantee cohort, 42% say that moving forward, they will likely use remote monitoring to monitor a handful of properties each year, and 33% believe that remote monitoring will play a major role in stewardship efforts.
A conservation vision for the Arkansas Basin
A few of our members in the Arkansas Basin region have started a new kind of collaboration – the Arkansas Basin Conservation Alliance (ABCA) – with the intent to create a shared conservation vision for the region, explore new ways to work together and strategize on projects.
Over the past year, Keep It Colorado has facilitated conversations and provided a space where ABCA members could brainstorm collaborations, identify common priorities, and identify gaps and obstacles to making their vision happen. Based on their input, we’ve created a case statement that tells the story of conservation in the Arkansas Basin, with a goal of attracting additional investments in conservation across the region.
We’re pleased to say that the case statement is now published! In addition to having a new resource, ABCA members can share with funders and partners, the process itself has served as a useful blueprint for Keep It Colorado’s statewide private lands conservation plan and the listening tours we’ll be scheduling to collect member input from across the state.
In-person regional meetings: It’s a wrap
Keep It Colorado staff have had the enormous pleasure of traveling across the state this summer to visit with our members in person. In total, 70 members have joined us for meetings in Golden, Salida, Carbondale and Montrose. It’s been an incredible opportunity to hear from all of you about your organizations’ conservation priorities, organizational priorities, challenges and opportunities – and we enjoyed the chance to share some of our updates as well.
For us, the best part about these meetings was getting to connect with folks in person (it’s been a long time coming!). We also thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get out on the land, visit some conserved properties and learn first-hand how this work is impacting local communities. A huge thank-you to all who participated!
Last but not least, we extend a special thanks to our members that organized tours and visits: Jefferson County Open Space, Central Colorado Conservancy, Aspen Valley Land Trust and Colorado West Land Trust.
Register now for Fall Policy Summit
We’re pleased to host our annual Fall Policy Summit in partnership with Colorado Open Space Alliance (COSA)’s annual conference in Vail! Please read below for special registration options for our members.
Date, time and location: Wed., Oct. 13
7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1300 Westhaven Drive, Vail, Coloradofund
Note that we’re currently planning this event to be in-person, and will also be offering the option to attend virtually. As COVID infections continue to surge, we recognize a need to stay flexible, so will be closely monitoring state and local guidelines around vaccinations, masks and social distancing, and will be prepared to make adjustments as needed over the coming months. In the meantime, we hope you’ll plan to attend this important annual convening.
Registration is now open. The Fall Policy Summit is FREE for all members of Keep It Colorado – you must use our special promo code to register. Additionally, for our non-open space agency members (i.e. land trusts and conservation champions), COSA is offering discounted registration to the rest of COSA Oct. 11-12. Early pricing ends Aug. 31.
Learn more, get the promo code, and get the link to register here.
Funding Opportunities
In September, Keep It Colorado will launch Round 2 of our regrant program, the Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP), for member organizations that have identified ready-to-go conservation projects that will ideally be ready to close by the end of March 2022. This program assists conservation easement holders in covering the costs of transactions associated with conservation easements – enabling landowners who have “ready-to-go” opportunities to conserve their properties, but who face financial barriers to facilitating the transaction, to conserve more land more quickly.
Here’s the fall cycle calendar:
RFP Posted – Mon., September 20
Proposal Deadline – Thurs., October 14
Proposal Review Period – Mon., October 18-Fri., October 29
Grant Awards – Mon., November 1
Earliest Award Payments – Mid to late November
In the meantime feel free to check out these materials:
Transaction Cost Assistance Program Outline
Frequently Asked Questions [NEW]
Last spring, Keep It Colorado re-granted $269,900 to land trusts that plan to close conservation projects this fall. Those projects are expected to help conserve more than 3,800 acres of land and leverage more than $1.7 million in tax credits through the state’s conservation easement tax credit program. We’re excited to continue the momentum of this unique and innovative program for our members!
Stewardship projects in 2022
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is now accepting project applications for its 2022 volunteer season. VOC offers nearly 40 years of experience in outdoor stewardship project management, working effectively to mobilize volunteers of all ages in accomplishing landscape-scale challenges.
It welcomes both new and returning partners interested in leveraging prepared, skilled volunteers in fulfilling on-the-ground project deliverables while building broad support for Colorado’s lands and waterways.
VOC is encouraging applicants to apply by September 15 to allow ample time for scouting and planning, especially for projects in the high country where snow may hinder these efforts.
Non-motorized and LWCF grant cycles
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has announced the opening of the 2022 Non-Motorized and LWCF Grant Cycles. This year’s application deadline for both grant cycles is Monday, October 4.
Non-Motorized Trail Grants
To continue its goal to improve trail recreation opportunities while protecting wildlife, habitat, and cultural resources, CPW is offering three categories for this year’s Non-Motorized Trails Cycle: Construction, Maintenance, and Planning/Support (maximum award of $250,000 in each category).
Land and Water Conservation Fund Grants
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant cycle has a separate grant application for projects to acquire, develop, and maintain public lands for outdoor recreation to improve quality of life and the health and vitality of present and future generations. LWCF requires 100% matching funds and can only be awarded to local, state, or tribal governments. The maximum request for this year’s cycle is $1,250,000 and the minimum request is $100,000. Learn more about the LWCF program.
Wildlife Review Process
To help address potential wildlife impacts in their applications, all potential Non-Motorized or LWCF applicants must contact the corresponding Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager by Tuesday, September 7 to discuss their project. Email a basic project scope and site map to both the appropriate Area Wildlife Manager (contact information can be found here) and tr****@st***.us by that date to be eligible for project review and scoring. Guidance on addressing wildlife impacts for trail projects can be found here.
In addition to information found on the website, CPW will be hosting two webinars to go over application requirements and answer commonly asked questions.
To register for a webinar, click on a link below:
August 10, 2021 11:00 AM
August 18, 2021 2:00 PM
Jefferson County – Climate Action Plan: Partner with Jeffco
2020 Sustainability Commission Achievements. https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/26902
Jefferson County – COVID-19 Updates
https://www.jeffco.us/3999/Coronavirus-Disease-2019-COVID-19
Denver – Park Hill Golf Course and Growth
Colorado’s urban open space past haunts the future of development and community life…from Park Hill Golf to Westminster Farm to the Stock Show grounds, neighbors demand much from rebuilding of spaces they feel ownership in, while developers say there’s only so much they can do.
https://coloradosun.com/2021/08/01/colorado-open-space-battles/
Get the latest news about Denver’s Park Hill Golf Course at https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Departments/Community-Planning-and-Development/Plans-in-Progress/Park-Hill-Golf-Course
Gross Reservoir Lawsuit
Denver Water was warned about unanswered questions on Gross Reservoir permit request. Environmentalists, activists and climate experts anticipated that Denver Water would sue Boulder County over the utility’s $464 million proposal to expand the Gross Reservoir. They just didn’t think it’d be so soon. The utility filed its federal lawsuit July 14, claiming commissioners are taking too long to consider its application for a 1041 permit needed to break ground on the five-year-long project southwest of Boulder. Read more here.
Climate Change Articles of Interest
High Country News, August 2021: https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-change-who-should-pay-for-climate-mitigation-colorado-looks-to-the-oil-industry
Jeffco Open Space Volunteer Program
1. Sat Aug. 28 – Sun Aug. 29
SLASH Collection: August 28-29 @ Evergreen Fire District – Station 8
2. Sat Sep. 4 – Sun Sep. 5
SLASH Collection: September 4-5 @ Wagon Wheel Open Space
3. Sat Sep. 11 – Sun Sep. 12
SLASH Collection: September 11-12 @ Settlers Drive Property
4. Sat Sep. 18 – Sun Sep. 19
SLASH Collection: September 18-19 @ Blue Mountain Open Space
5. Sat Sep. 25 – Sun Sep. 26
SLASH Collection: September 25-26 @ Jeffco Shaffer’s Crossing Road & Bridge Shop
1. Sat Oct. 2 – Sun Oct. 3
SLASH Collection: October 2-3 @ Beaver Ranch Park
2. Sat Oct. 9 – Sun Oct. 10
SLASH Collection: October 9-10 @ Beaver Ranch Park
3. Sat Oct. 16 – Sun Oct. 17
SLASH Collection: October 16-17 @ Mount Vernon Country Club
4. Sat Oct. 23 – Sun Oct. 24
SLASH Collection: October 23-24 @ Jeffco South Road & Bridge Shop
5. Sat Oct. 30 – Sun Oct. 31
SLASH Collection: October 30-31 @ Thunder Valley
RSS Feeds
The following conservation organizations now have RSS feeds at the bottom of each of our own PLANJeffco web pages, so you can follow their postings at any time…
Douglas Land Conservancy, https://douglaslandconservancy.org/
Land Trust Alliance, www.lta.org
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, https://www.birdconservancy.org/
And there you have it. This is part of what we do, who we follow, what we’re interested in, because Conservation just doesn’t happen by itself…it takes a community to make it work. And as always, stay well, stay safe, be conservation-minded at all times.
Recent events: The fire at Deer Creek Canyon Park in August of 2019 burned 20 – 25 acres and was human caused. It required evacuations and six fire agencies to fight the blaze. In July, 2020, the “Elephant Butte Fire” west of Alderfer/Three Sisters Park, due to lightning, burned about 50 acres. A heavy rain helped that firefighting effort. In April, 2020 the “560 Fire” in the Pike National Forest in Jeffco burned at least 83 acres in the Hayman burn scar. Looking further back, in 2012, the “Lower North Fork” fire turned deadly, claiming 3 lives and torching thousands of acres in the Conifer area. We probably all remember the massive Hayman fire in 2002, which burned 138,114 acres across four counties including Jefferson. It can happen again.
Today we have a little history lesson plus a talk about proper trail etiquette. I want to show you what happens when visitors to the parks fail to #StayOnTrail.
The trail took six years to finish; it was completed in 1971. To build the switchbacks, Jack had to move boulders that weighed up to two tons with just his block and tackle – truly a labor of love! The rock retaining walls on the trail stand as a tribute to his efforts.
According to Colorado Lifestyle: “No one ever hikes the Lubahn Trail by itself. Instead they use it as the primary way to get part way up South Table Mountain in Golden and then use one of the many unofficial (social) trails to the top of Castle Rock (formally known as Table Rock). According to the city, this additional excursion is illegal because it traverses private property.”
These photos show what can (and does) happen to a trail when it’s abused. Over its lifetime, trekkers and hill climbers, on foot and mountain bike, have short-cut the switchbacks, causing damage – in some places, significant damage – to the original rock work that forms the walls that line the trail. As a knowledgeable Park Visitor, I’m sure you would never do something like this, because if you did, then you would be adding to the damage on the trail.
As you can see from these photos, the Lubahn Trail can be narrow in parts. Social distancing in this age of Covid is not possible when encountering others coming in the opposite direction, so have your mask ready and put it on. 
There is no clear boundary between the private and JCOS land, although there are some recently installed posts on the JCOS border along the new JCOS trail, saying that it is private land behind the posts. None of these posts are visible from where one attains the mesa top via the Lubahn trail, and no one taking the Lubahn would have any way of knowing they were on private land. It’s also not clear where the border is between city of Golden and private land.
A half-block away is the new JCOS trail. It has a COVID signboard plus a newly installed map of South Table Mountain open space. There is no official parking or public restrooms. The neighborhood street is almost always packed with parked cars. Any park visitor would assume both trails are sanctioned for use. A very common hike is to go up one trail and come down the other.
