Mount Tom is Conserved!
On Tuesday, April 11th, 2023, a joint effort between Jeffco Open Space, The Conservation Fund, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, and Great Outdoors Colorado came to fruition with the conservation of some 2,000 acres within the Mount Tom Conservation Corridor area. This swath of land is located adjacent to the Ralston Creek State Wildlife Area, northwest of Denver and Golden.
The Mount Tom Conservation Corridor is comprised of fee-owned and conservation easements. It connects to other previously conserved areas, extending in a landscape-wide manner the natural resources for wildlife and Colorado communities while protecting floral and faunal species of special concern, as well as endangered species that live in this area, plus a critical watershed, the headwaters of Van Bibber Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. The area is not yet open to the public, but following intensive monitoring, investigation and inventory of the future preserve, access for outdoor recreation for the publicly-owned sections are planned.
To read the entire press release, go to the JCOS News Flash here.
Another success for land acquisition! Let’s hear it for this quorum of conservation organizations — many thanks to all the fine folk who worked so long and so hard to make this happen.
PLAN Jeffco Academy Presents: Stewardship of Open Lands
If you’re a frequent Open Space Park Visitor, maybe you’ve noticed there have been quite a few changes lately. If you’ve ever wondered why, and what’s happening to the Parks, here’s your chance to find out. There’s a document called 
Beaver Ranch has a full-time Park Manager! Ted Greene is his name, and he will be in residence as he helps to oversee the improvements to the Park and raise awareness about the park and its amenities. The Beaver Ranch Board and JCOS both agreed that Ted is an ideal person to help fulfill the mission of Beaver Ranch
Each year Jeffco Open Space uses seasonal wildlife closures at the parks to protect species at sensitive times in their life cycles. This year’s seasonal wildlife closures affect numerous Jeffco Open Space parks and trails. Protect the wildlife you love. Respect seasonal wildlife closures. Parks affected, either in whole or in part: Centennial Cone, Clear Creek Canyon, Deer Creek Canyon, North Table Mountain, South Table Mountain, Cathedral Spires, and Crown Hill. For a full list of affected parks/trails and additional details, please read the 
Ranger Justin caught snow removal off the Tough Cuss Bridge in Clear Creek Canyon Park on Groundhog’s Day. Multiple storms in February each brought 4 to 10 inches of the heavy white stuff to the Parks, necessitating trail-clearing so that everyone could enjoy the fine weather in the following days.
The deer and elk hunting late season hunting has wrapped up at Centennial Cone. During the 2021-2022 Hunt, a total of 120 hunters signed in; roughly half of the hunters had a companion with them. Total animals harvested were eight deer, mostly near the western trailhead or southwest of Evening Sun Loop. No elk were taken. JCOS receives Chronic Wasting Disease test results from the hunt, which help determine the health of the animals in the park. By the end of February, only one mature buck had tested positive.
Mountain bikers take note: the Open Space Trails Team rebuilt an approved alternate line on Dakota Ridge in February. The alt line had been requested by COMBA years ago, and it worked really well once built. But since then, some of the large boulders had fractured and shifted. The Jefferson County Geologist inspected the area and recommended that major boulders be removed, thus closing the line. The alt line has been closed for quite some time now, but after a lot of heavy-lifting and rock-moving, the line is safe once more and open again.
Meyer Ranch visitors, be prepared for more forest management this year. Open Space will treat approximately 37 acres of ponderosa, aspen, mixed conifer, and lodgepole forest. This work will focus on healthy forest structure, aspen enhancement, and wildfire risk reduction. Work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022 and will contribute to the Open Space Conservation Greenprint goal for improving forest health on 1,000 acres of JCOS lands by the year 2025. There’s a 
The Trails Team will be performing restoration work on South Table Mountain Park, near Croc Tooth Trail, beginning March 14. Advisory signs have been installed, informing the public that work will begin soon to remove and restore a heavily used Unauthorized Trail (UT) on the northeast side of Basalt Cap Loop. This UT has been the topic of great debate over the years and the addition of Croc Tooth Trail makes it completely unnecessary now. The Trails Team will have a mini-excavator running from Basalt Cap Loop, down to Ancient Palms, for about a week and then seed and shrub plantings will begin.
It’s the season — some call it Springtime in the Rockies, others call it Mud Season! As a result of the freezing and thawing, our Open Space Parks and trails will continue to shut down and reopen, depending on the weather events. If you encounter mud, walk through not around. Walking around causes trail expansion, braiding, ruts, erosion, and vegetation loss. We don’t want to ruin our trails, now do we? And don’t forget to check 
JCOS staff recently met with their counterparts at City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) to learn about their adaptive bike share program, and how JCOS might be able to adopt a similar program. These adaptive bikes are class 2 e-mountain bikes that are pedaled by hand and available on loan to visitors experiencing disabilities.
Thanks to Open Space GIS, Sign, and Park Services Teams, Dinosaur Ridge has been getting a sign facelift. The above kiosk is the latest install at the Visitor Center, complete with Rules & Regs and their very own teal color name plates. Look for more wayfinding to be installed in the coming months. Photo by Kelly Bowser
Jeffco Open Space has a Heritage Stewardship Team; they’ve been working over-winter to research and document some of the less well-known cultural resources, like the water control structures at Hildebrand Ranch and the Adkins Residence at Mount Glennon. Research and documentation are critical for understanding how a site may be historically significant, which helps guide planning for future use or removal. All documentation is given to the State Historic Preservation Office where it will be maintained in perpetuity. Photos by Erica Duvic.
It’s a beauty, and it may be unique to Jefferson County! This summer the Open Space Natural Resources Team will collaborate with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), Denver Botanic Gardens, and the University of Northern Colorado to understand if a mustard in the genus Physaria (bladderpod) is a distinct species only known to Jefferson County. This group of collaborators are seeking to answer a question that has been pondered by botanists for many years – are populations of a misidentified mustard in the genus Physaria an undescribed species? The primary objectives of this study are to: 1) Clarify the relationships among Physaria bellii (Front Range twinpod), Physaria vitulifera (fiddleleaf twinpod), and the mystery Physaria. Genetic sampling will be performed on all three species to understand relationships and to determine if the undescribed Physaria warrants recognition as a distinct species. Sampling will be completed in 2022 with results following in early 2023. Photo by Pam Smith from CNHP .
The Botany and Forestry specialists of The Natural Resources Team have been working together to protect a rare plant population within an active forestry project at Meyer Ranch Park. The plant in question is called Tall Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana); it’s a member of the buttercup family.
Along Golden Gate Road sits one of Jefferson County’s historic sites, Centennial House. Nearby stands an apple tree, a bit of a mystery. Fruit trees can help to tell the story of a place. They were sometimes planted by homesteaders in the west to prove they were cultivating the land as required under the Homestead Act of 1862. In 2020, the Heritage Stewardship Team wondered what we could learn from this tree. Was it planted in the 1870s, when the house was built? Is it an heirloom variety? How can we learn more about the site from the tree and teach visitors about its history? They recently sent in a sample for DNA testing, and the results are interesting:
Mark your calendars and get ready for the Open Space main volunteer projects of 2022. These are large group projects, so if you’re interested in participating, contact Matt Martinez, 
