Open Space Update – May 2022

Spring has sprung – finally! It’s been a delicious mixture of warm, dry spring days and a retreat back into wintery weather, but neither rain nor snow nor dead of night (?) will stop our courageous Open Space Teams.  It’s been a busy couple of months, so let’s see what they’ve been up to…

Beaver Ranch Park Welcomes New, Full-time Park Manager

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

Park as a community asset, while also protecting the natural resources and recreational opportunities that make Beaver Ranch Park unique. Next time you’re at Beaver Ranch and you see Ted, say “howdy!”. Photo by JCOS.

 

Clear Creek Canyon Park Water Access

The JCOS Trails Team has been working on a stone stair project for creek access at the Cannonball Flats Trailhead in Clear Creek Canyon Park. In addition to the Cannonball Flats Trailhead, there will be two additional stone stair access routes to the Creek along the Peaks to Plains Trail. Work should be winding up time for the summer season. Photos by Kaleb Anzick.

 

Meyer Ranch Planting & Restoration Project

Not all planting/restoration projects are open to the public. This spring, the JCOS Natural Resources Team had an internal planting project at Meyer Ranch, in the wetlands complex adjacent to US-285, where they planted Nebraska sedge (Carex nebrascensis) in an attempt to control Canada thistle. This wetland complex is high in biodiversity and is a critical component of the hydrology and function of the Turkey Creek riparian corridor. Nebraska sedge is a rhizomatous graminoid that will compete with and limit physical space for Canada thistle. The purpose is to reduce Canada thistle density and the need to use herbicide applications in the future. Photo by BLM/Wikipedia & JCOS.

 

South Table Unauthorized Trail Closure – late March, early April ‘22

Unauthorized trails are scattered throughout the JCOS park system. Sometimes, when too many people use them, they become de facto in the minds of Park visitors. That doesn’t mean that they’re right, or good. Unauthorized trails often ignore the slope of the land and the potential for erosion, or the intrusion into areas where endangered species live. That’s why, earlier this spring, the JCOS Trails Team obliterated an unauthorized trail on the northeast corner of South Table Mountain Park (STM). The Trails Team used boulders to redefine the area and as retaining walls on the Croc Tooth Trail. They revegetated with grass seed and used erosion matting to help with the revegetation. The Croc Tooth Trail runs through the same area and allows visitors access to the top of South Table. Photo by JCOS.

 

South Table – Trail Runner Volunteers Continue to Get Dirty

Volunteers and volunteer groups are critical to JCOS’ trail management program. One of the groups, the Trail Runner Volunteers (TRV), has been working on the Serpentine Trail. They’ve made good progress in hardening the trail surface with rocks, a plentiful natural resource on South Table. Congratulations to them for their persistence and hard work! Photo by JCOS.

 

South Table – Lubahn Trail Update

The Lubahn Trail may be one of the best-known trails on South Table. The single-track hiker-only trail, that starts at 18^th and Belvedere Streets in Golden, was build some 50 years ago. It leads visitors to private property, it’s subject to severe erosion, and lends itself to short-cutting and the development of unauthorized trails. The Lubahn is currently being repaired, and while the contract company is on-site during the week, the Lubahn is closed to visitors. If you want to hike South Table during the week, you’re encouraged  to use the main trailhead at Camp George West, 1219 Kilmer Street, Golden. Work on the trail should be completed by early June. Photos by Anne Friant.

 

South Table Mountain Power Line Replacements

It’s been a busy couple of months on South Table. In April, Xcel Energy contractors replaced power line poles, using helicopters to ferry in the replacement poles. Power equipment upgrades should help mitigate potential wildfires in this area. The old poles were cut down and walked out. Check out the linemen working on the poles in the photo above. Photo by JCOS.

 

Earth Day – North Table Cleanup

The JCOS Park Services Team did a mass clean-up at North Table and along Hwy-93, which is always in need of litter cleanup due to the winds that blow trash into the area. Photo by Matt Martinez & Anne Friant.

 

Earth Day – Van Bibber

Seventy-five volunteers gathered at Van Bibber Park on Earth Day. They planted over 1,000 marsh sunflower, milkweed and cottonwood trees on that day. These plants will support pollinators and wildlife in this critical riparian area, while deterring invasive species.  Photo by Matt Martinez & Anne Friant.

 

Earth Day – South Valley

Thirty-six students from Columbine High School joined JCOS at South Valley on Earth Day to move 120+ tons of crusher fines (tiny particles of crushed rock) onto existing trails, and raked 700+ feet of new tread in just a few hours. Photo by Matt Martinez & Anne Friant.

 

Earth Day – Clear Creek/Peaks to Plains Trail in Golden

On Earth Day, University of Denver students, faculty and staff participated in a cleanup effort in Golden, along Clear Creek. They gathered 36 bags of trash, assorted car parts and lumber – a total of 450 pounds of waste – and finished the day by planting six New Mexican locust – small, flowering trees that are native to the Southwest US. Photo by Matt Martinez & Anne Friant.

 

Earth Day – Welchester Tree Grant Park

JCOS Park Rangers led students, teachers, aids and volunteers from Welchester Elementary on a nature-based scavenger hunt on Earth Day at Welchester Tree Grant Park. They helped the kids plant 14 native shrubs and worked with them to remove invasive species and install seven new trail name signs. Photo by Matt Martinez & Anne Friant.

 

Boettcher Mansion Makeover

The Boettcher Mansion has had a make-over. In previous months, the interior has been repainted, and new furniture has been secured for the Lobby and Pine Room. The Lobby has a new rug, a donation from the estate of Deb Coogan, a former Boettcher Mansion employee. An original bench has been installed in the Forest Room so visitors can read about Charles Boettcher and the rich history of the Mansion. The hallways and breakout rooms contain new canvas artwork by John James Audubon and Paul Cezanne, which reflect the rich landscapes and wildlife found on the Nature Preserve. Boettcher is ready to host weddings, events and meetings in the updated historic Mansion. Photo by JCOS.

 

Lookout Mountain Nature Center Reopens to The Public

The Lookout Mountain Nature Center opened to the public on March 18 with new hours:

Monday–Thursday: CLOSED

Friday: Open 11a.m.-3p.m.

Saturday & Sunday: Open 11a.m.-4p.m.

 

Speaking of Raptors…

Twenty-five Raptor Monitoring volunteers have completed their training with the JCOS Natural Resources Team. They’ve been learning to identify raptors, as well as what their duties will be as they get acquainted with their nest monitoring teams. As a visitor to our Open Space Parks, pay attention and respect the “Closed Area” signs. Raptors (hawks, eagles, owls) are actively nesting and don’t appreciate inquisitive humans. This great horned owl nest in the photo has been under JCOS observation since 2002. The dark stain on the rock (blue arrow) is the spot where adult owls like to wipe their bills clean. Photo by JCOS.

 

Spring Salamander Migration

It’s salamander season – actually, this happens in the springtime, when local amphibians begin to emerge from their winter retreats. If you see a salamander, JCOS’ Senior Natural Resources Specialist Andrew DuBois would like to hear from you. Send Andrew an email and include a photo/audio/video report, GPS coordinates (approximate location is good enough), and the date/time of the observation.

What to look out for? The Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium) may be the most-often sighted. There are three subspecies of this critter: the Arizona Tiger Salamander (olive green to dark grey background with a pattern of small black dots, generally found in montane environments); the Blotched Tiger Salamander (mottled with irregular dirty yellow and blackish blotches, generally occurs in the Colorado Plateau & Wyoming Basin); the Barred Tiger Salamander (black background color with a pattern of broad, bold, vertical yellow bars, generally occurs in the Great Plains). If you find a salamander that sort of looks like an Arizona Tiger but has characteristics of the Barred Tiger, you may be looking at a hybrid, since these two subspecies inhabit the same ecosystems along the Colorado Front Range. Photos by Andrew DuBois.

 

AllTrails Application Partnership

There’s an app for that, and it’s called AllTrails. This mobile app, installed on more than 35 million mobile devices, is used for way-finding and trail rating. It’s not always been accurate, so JCOS’ GIS and Communications Teams have been partnering with AllTrails to remedy the inaccuracies. In coming months, the goal is to update current Open Space park & trail closures, provide accurate trail routing & navigation, and obtain data from users about their experiences. You can find AllTrails at www.AllTrails.com or at your favorite PlayStore.

 

Mutant Columbine

Colorado’s state flower is the Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea). The breathtaking sky blue of the sepals and white of the petals, combined with the long spurs, the delicate appearance and brief bloom time, make it a flower worth searching for. However, as in all things related to Mother Nature, there’s an oddball variant of Aquilegia coerulea, and it’s found in Reynolds Park. This mutation doesn’t have white petals; instead, it has a second set of blue sepals, and no spurs. It doesn’t produce nectar, which is why hawkmoths love Columbines. This mutant is being studied by folks at U.C. Santa Barbara to see if it will have any staying power, since the hawkmoth, one of the primary pollinators of the Columbine, tends to avoid it, though bumblebees seem to have no problems with it (perhaps they’re after the pollen). Aphids and deer seem to avoid eating the mutant blooms; this curious behaviour has resulted in a Reynolds population where about 25% of the Columbine blooms are mutant.   Photo by Zac Cabin, UCSB

 

Wildflower of the Month (May 2022) – Anemone patens var. multifida (pasque flower) 

The pasque flower is an early-spring blooming perennial, one of the first flower to make an appearance in our Parks. Given our penchant toward late-spring snow storms, you can even find them popping out from under the snow. They flower from April through July. The stems are covered with long, soft hairs with a single lavender or blue-purple flower arising from each stem. Plants have basal leaves and a whorl of leaves on the stem below the flower. Individuals can grow to be 5-50 cm tall and are typically found in forests, meadows, and open hillsides. This species is found at elevations that range from 5,400-13,000 ft. The JCOS Natural Resources Team has seen A. patens in various habitats such as the forests in Alderfer/Three Sisters Park and the grasslands at the Ranson Edwards Homestead (Coal Creek Canyon Study Area).  Photo by JCOS.

 

What is SLASH?

SLASH = Sustainable Lands And Safer Homes. The SLASH program allows residents to dispose of branches, tree limbs, evergreen needles, pine cones and grass clippings to create a defensible space around their homes.  This woody debris contributes to the high risk of fire danger in Jeffco. Make your property safer, check the Jeffco SLASH website for dates and locations for 2022.  The 2022 SLASH program will run from June until the beginning of November this year.

 

Mary Ann Bonnell Makes News for Muddy Trails

Mary Ann Bonnell, Ranger One, is once again reminding visitors to walk (and ride) through the mud, not around!  “Once you add moisture into the equation, any trail that’s on a natural surface becomes much more fragile,” Mary Ann Bonnell with Jefferson County Open Space said.    >> Watch the Full Video

 

Gnome Man’s Land – It Looks Cute But…

The world is full of rules and regulations, and even though something might look cute, it’s up to us to realize that a cavity in a tree could be put to better use by local wildlife. Leave the gnomes for your home garden, I’m sure they’ll feel more comfortable there. Also, a reminder – something like this can fall under numerous Park regulations (the baby gnomes, or gnomelets, were attached to the tree using wood screws.):

C.14. Litter: It shall be unlawful to deposit or leave any refuse, trash or litter in or on Open Space Lands except by depositing such refuse, trash or litter in designated waste receptacles. Fine: $100.00
– OR –
C.6. Destruction of Natural/Cultural Resources: 
C.6.a. It shall be unlawful to deface, damage or in any other way vandalize any vegetation, rock or any object of archaeological, biological, geological or historical interest on Open Space Lands. Fine: $200.00. Photo and find by Brock Messner

 

Mountain Native Plant Master Courses

Registration is open for 2022 Metro to Mountain Native Plant Master Courses. Discover more about the offerings and register here today.

 

Conservation Awards

Every year, JCOS hosts the Conservation Awards, an event that pays homage to the numerous volunteers and partners who contribute thousands of hours to help JCOS accomplish its mission. This year, the 2021 awards were held at the Lakewood Cultural Center, the evening of April 19^th. Over 275 individuals attended, the first in-person celebration in nearly 2 years. View the nominees and the award winners here.

 

JCOS 50th Anniversary Fun Fact

In 1975, $4,186,000 in sales tax revenue was generated for Open Space. In 2021, $61,610,999 was generated.

 

Miss Mountain Manners wants to remind all Park Visitors to recreate responsibly; when you encounter muddy trails, walk through the mud, not around. Even better, go back and find a dryer trail.

Know before you go, check https://www.jeffco.us/1531/Alerts-Closures for trail conditions and closures before heading out, and don’t forget to pack extra clothes for any type of weather. Carry water; at any time of year it’s easy to get dehydrated and disoriented at elevation.

Miss Mountain Manners wants to let everyone at JeffCo Open Space know how proud we at PLAN Jeffco are of the terrific work that they’re doing. The next time you’re in one of our Parks and you see a JCOS Staffer or Volunteer, introduce yourself and say, “thank you”.

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