ENOR Environmental Discovery Camp Has Scholarships
You’re hiking or cycling in one of our Open Space parks. You encounter a group of kids with a couple of adults, and they seem totally engrossed in a patch of shrubbery. You stop for a moment, you hear children’s voices exclaiming about what they’ve found – they seem so excited about everything around them.
Welcome to ENOR – Eagle’s Nest, Owl’s Roost – Environmental Discovery Camp, which is sponsored by the Jeffco CSU Extension office. ENOR has been in the business of getting kids outdoors for more than 50 years.
Jeffco Parks & Open Space was so impressed with ENOR’s achievements that, in 2024, they presented ENOR with the Gambel Oak Award, as a Pioneer in Environmental Education, at that year’s Conservation Awards Ceremony. Read more
2026 Conservation Awards
By Vicky Gits Staff Writer Photos: Jefferson County Parks and Open Space
Conservation Awards night Jan. 29, 2026, at the Lakewood Cultural Center did not disappoint, with inspiring videos starring parks volunteers raving about how much they enjoy their duties, even cleaning toilets for Jefferson County Parks and Open Space.
The annual awards night is a tradition that has taken place since 2018 with the exception of 2021, when it was suspended because of COVID.
Currently there are about 550 regular, ongoing volunteers donating thousands of hours per year to educate visitors, build and maintain trails, restore vegetation, give advice to hikers, supply toilet paper, pick up litter and welcome visitors. A couple of thousand also turn out for one-time projects.
Emceeing the event this year was the newly appointed director of JCPOS, Aaron Roth, former National Park Service deputy regional director of eight states, in Lakewood for 20 years. His responsibilities there included oversight of Rocky Mountain and Great Sand Dunes national parks in Colorado. Read more
Miracle Makeover: Stagecoach Trailhead Reopens
By Vicky Gits, Staff Writer PLAN Jeffco
After being closed for restoration since 2017, the former dog park and trailhead off Stagecoach Boulevard reopened Oct. 25, 2025, as a feature inside Elk Meadow Park in Evergreen. Dogs are still welcome in the park, as they are elsewhere in the system, but they must be on leash, as there is no fenced, off-leash area.
The Stagecoach Trailhead is about two miles west of Evergreen Parkway on the south end of Elk Meadow Park. The enclave has 107 acres compared to 1,600 acres in the whole of Elk Meadow Park. Read more
Upcoming Events 2026
If you are planning to attend an Open Space Advisory Committee meeting, be sure to confirm the date at https://www.jeffco.us/1581/Advisory-Committee
If you would like to attend a PLAN Jeffco Board meeting, please contact us at Co*******@********co.org prior to the day of the meeting.
MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE INFESTATION 2026
The Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is back in Jefferson County. This little bug, this native to the western North American pine forests, is responsible for the periodic loss of millions of pine trees – most normally Ponderosa, Lodgepole, Scotch and Limber pines.
Mountain pine beetles (MPB) are always with us, having evolved with the western pine forests. Under ideal conditions, their attacks are low-level, limited to trees that have been stressed due to injuries, drought, over-crowding, fire damage, root disease or old age. However, every 10-30 years, whether due to beetle population explosions, enhanced drought, or warmer temperatures (or all three), major outbreaks occur. The last major MPB outbreak in Jeffco occurred from 1996 to 2004. Since 2023 there have been signs of a new resurgence of MPB in our area.
