Open Space Update – October 2022

Autumn – the leaves are turning gold and red and brown and falling to the ground. In some of the higher altitude parks the snows are accumulating, while the critters are getting ready for their long winter’s nap.

Let’s take a look and see what’s been going on at Jeffco Open Space these last two months…

NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY 2022 – A WHOPPING SUCCESS

The Clear Creek Trail Open Space Park got a thorough scrubbing on Saturday, September 24th, National Public Lands Day, when nearly 700 volunteers from Jeffco Open Space, the City of Golden and the City of Wheat Ridge cleaned up a 22-mile stretch of the Peaks to Plains Trail.

Over 13 tons of trash were collected, nearly filling two roll-off dumpsters. This year’s cleanup was a huge success, the largest volunteer effort ever, according to Open Space spokespersons. The volunteers, joined by JCOS supporters/partners and staff members, were hosted at an after-party at the Gateway Trailhead with free food trucks, live music, and a raffle for prizes.

Events like this are so valuable for our parks. Consider participating, make plans now, mark your calendars. The first National Trails Day for 2023 is scheduled for Saturday, June 3rd.  Keep your eyes open for the announcement from JCOS. Sign up for JCOS notifications at https://www.jeffco.us/1564/Newsletters.

VOLUNTEER PICNIC 2022 – FUN AND WELL-DESERVED

Being a JCOS volunteer isn’t all work and no play. In addition to being able to spend time in the great outdoors, nearly 200 volunteers were hosted at the annual Volunteer Picnic. This year’s picnic took place at Bear Creek Lake Park on August 25th, where JCOS staff served up food and drink and ice cream and fun. JCOS supporters Patagonia, Outerknown and Kuhl donated prizes to the volunteers who could answer trick questions the fastest, and County Commissioners Leslie Dahlkemper and Andy Kerr sat down with anyone who had a question or concern to share.

Interested in becoming a JCOS Volunteer? There are so many positions to choose from: https://www.jeffco.us/1567/Volunteer

THE TRAIL STEWARDSHIP TEAM WRAPS UP 2022

Got a teenager at home, aged 14 through 18, who needs something to do next summer? How about giving the Trail Stewardship Team a try?

The Trail Stewardship Team is a program for older teens who want to work in the Open Space Parks. Applicants are chosen based on a set of qualifications, and if they’re chosen, they get hands-on experience in new trail construction, trail removal, slash and noxious weed removal, and wildfire mitigation. It’s physical labor, and builds both muscle and character.

This season’s Trail Stewardship program was comprised of eight crews (77 crew members total) over a period of seven weeks. They retreaded 2.7 miles of trails, removed 1 mile of social trail, de-vegetated 5.7 miles of trail tread, removed an acre of slash, treated 41 acres for noxious weeks, spread 300 feet of crusher fines on existing trails, did 700 feet of new trail construction, and mitigated 5 acres of forest. Everyone did a great job.

Piqued your interest? Get more information about the Trails Stewardship Team at https://www.jeffco.us/3327/Trail-Stewardship-Team

BEAVER RANCH PARK – COLORADO DAY ACTIVITIES

There’s been a lot of trail work happening at Beaver Ranch Open Space Park. During the summer, over 30 volunteers joined Open Space staffers to finish some 1200 feet of new trail. At this altitude, the weather was perfect, the Open Space Trails Team was right on with planning and preparation, and the volunteers eager to learn and perform.

Have you thought about joining a trails project, or organizing your interest group into sponsoring one? It’s a lot of fun, and a huge help to Open Space. Head on over to https://www.jeffco.us/1567/Volunteer and check out the one-day project opportunities for starters.

DEER CREEK OS PARK – BLACK BEAR SIGHTING

If you’ve been an Open Space Parks visitor for any length of time, you’re well aware that the parks are home to a variety of animals. There’ve been multiple bear sightings in Deer Creek Canyon OS Park. One of the JCOS Park Rangers encountered the black bear in this photo while on patrol this past month, around 7:15 in the evening. Hearing some rustling in the drainage adjacent to Meadowlark Trail and thinking it was likely a deer he kept going. It was only when he exited the deeply forested area that he saw the bear walk out of the drainage next to him, only about 25 yards away. Eventually it sauntered away. The same Ranger later observed a sow and two cubs walking along a hillside on the southside of Grazing Elk Trail just before dark.

At this time of year, the bear are ravenously eating anything and everything they can get their paws on, in preparation for their long winter’s nap (did Clement Clark Moore have bears in mind when he wrote the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”?). If you should encounter a bear, in the parks or out, do not approach it. Do NOT try to take a selfie with it! If you have your doggie companion with you, make sure Fido is on lead; never ever allow your pet to approach a bear, not at any time of the year. Never get between a sow (bear mom) and her cubs. If a bear gets inquisitive and approaches you, try to make yourself look big; draw Fido close to you to increase the appearance of bulk. Shout forcefully. Do not run. Black bears have been clocked at 30mph; you cannot outrun them, and they climb trees better than you can.  Once you’re in a safe space, fill out a human-wildlife interaction, https://www.jeffco.us/3620/Human-Wildlife-Interactions. This will help JCOS balance wildlife the protection and preservation of their habitat while promoting a safe and positive visitor experience.

VISITOR EDUCATION EVERYWHERE IN THE PARKS THIS YEAR

When you were in the Parks this summer, do you recall seeing one of these “educational pop-ups” at the trailhead? They were everywhere, it seemed, staffed by JCOS Park Rangers and Volunteer Nature Educators. With the massive influx of visitors since the inception of COVID, spreading the messages of Trail Courtesy and Let’s Doo It are more important than ever. Both topics are key strategies in the 2020-2025 Conservation Greenprint. https://planjeffco.org/2020-2025-conservation-greenprint/

The Let’s Doo It pop-ups, which are attempts to educate the public on the importance of bagging pet waste and depositing it into proper receptacles, include white flags along a ½ mile or so of trail, marking every pile of pet waste, bagged or unbagged. This visual highlights how much “doo” is left behind in our parks. After the event, staffers collect, count and weigh the flagged piles. This summer’s average number of poo piles per mile was 43.5, with a total weight of 55.5 pounds. That is a lot of poo, none of which is good for the environment, since most dog poo contains noxious and even toxic contaminants – never mind the irritation of stepping around (or into) piles of poo on the trail. Lesson for the day?  NO POO LEFT BEHIND!

Trail Courtesy pop-ups are a little less theatrical. Generally there’s a “scenario wheel” that visitors can spin and learn about good communication techniques while on the trail. Most of the trails in our Open Space Parks are multi-use, which means that all manner of visitors – hikers, trail runners, bikers, equestrians, and mobility-assisted visitors, must learn how to get along while on the trails. And then there’s the fun swag that helps with on-trail communication.

Educational pop-ups will be a fixture in our Open Space Parks. Look for them next time you’re out for a hike or ride.

INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT – YELLOW FLAG IRIS

How can something as pretty as the yellow flag iris be on the threatened list (as per the IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature) yet be awaiting listing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as an invasive species? It’s true, this lovely iris, which is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwest Africa, wreaks havoc in the US and sections of South Africa. It was imported into North America as an ornamental in the late 1700s, but as happens with so many ornamentals, it escaped and now forms monocultures near irrigation streams and boggy areas, trapping sediments in its roots and narrowing waterways.

And then there’s the issue of toxicity…roots and leaves of the yellow flag iris are toxic, poisonous to anyone who munches on them. It can grow in low pH (acidic) environments and can withstand highly saline water. Plants grow to about three feet tall with long sword-like leaves that grow from thick rhizomes in a fan-like arrangement. Leaves are about ½ to 1¼ inch wide, flat with a pronounced midrib. Plants resemble cattails when not in bloom, so be very careful if you’re out harvesting cattails. The rhizomes can live for over 10 years in the soil and can remain viable for three months or more when dry.

Plants generally form flowers after three years. The 2-3-inch-wide flowers are yellow to whitish with three upward facing petals and three downward facing sepals. The sepals usually have dark purplish-brown streaking. Flowering is summer through fall. Seeds are formed in three-sided pods. Each plant can form several hundred seeds that can survive and float for more than a year, enabling new infestations to establish long distances from existing occurrences.

Got a question about a plant that you suspect may be a noxious weed? https://www.jeffco.us/1994/Noxious-Weed-Information

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The “Know Before You Go” rule is the most basic and fundamental that any visitor to any park, not just Jeffco Open Space Parks, but to all parks along the Front Range and into the High Country, must follow.  This summer has seen multiple unfortunate incidents, including deaths, some of which were avoidable, had the victims been adequately prepared and taken precautions appropriately. When you see the sign “Open Space Park”, do not confuse it with a city park. The Jeffco Open Space Parks, Boulder Open Space, state parks, national parks – these are wild places. Visitors to these places are expected to understand how to manage their own safety…thus the admonition, “Know Before You Go”.

Know Before You Go:

Anticipate what you will need for your activity and know your limits.

Know which public lands allow dogs on trails, and which don’t. Know when leashes are required, and always pack out waste. Jeffco Open Space Parks require dogs to be leashed at all times and waste to be packed out and properly disposed of.

Know how to handle wildlife encounters.

Plan for where you will park and have alternatives. JCOS Parking information here.

Stay on the trail.

Be careful with fire. At JCOS Parks: No Fire. No Flames. No Fireworks. Cigarette butts must be properly disposed of. Gas stoves are only permitted in designated areas with hardened surfaces.

Know and follow all rules and regulations. JCOS Regulations are found here.

Recently, eight outdoor agencies* have combined forces to order to collaborate on how to address the challenges introduced by the expanding population and the increasing high visitation rates. This collaboration, known as NoCo PLACES 2050, is committed to working on sustainable solutions, equitable actions, and beneficial land management practices for the long-term conservation of public lands in Colorado and the quality of the visitor experience.  Read more about NoCo PLACES 2050 here.

* Different Areas are Managed by Different Agencies. Each jurisdiction has its own set of rules and regulations aimed at providing visitors with safe and enjoyable experiences, while protecting the environment and wildlife. Learn how you can Know Before You Go at each of the NoCo Partner’s websites:

Boulder County Parks and Open Space

Clear Creek County

Gilpin County

Jefferson County Open Space

Larimer County Natural Resources

Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Northeast Region

National Park Service: Rocky Mountain National Park

U.S. Forest Service, Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland

WEATHER STEM

Before you begin your trek in one of our Open Space Parks, you always want to check the weather. As a Coloradan, you understand that our climate is capricious; within a matter of minutes the weather can change from warm and sunny to cold, windy, and even snow! Get ahead of this problem by downloading the new real-time weather app, http://jefferson-co.weatherstem.com/. Three stations cover weather reports from the north end of the County to the south — Coal Creek Canyon, Alderfer/Three Sisters, and Beaver Ranch, respectively.

This system collects real-time weather locally and integrates with the IBM Watson Weather Intelligence system, then integrates with national lightening detection system for highly accurate and timely forecasting. For those who plan to hike at altitude, this is one app you’ll want to have on your phone.

NEXT YEAR: NATIONAL TRAILS DAY 2023

National Trails Day is a nation-wide, annual event. Across the country there are over a million miles of scenic, recreational, and historic trails, and their care and maintenance is due in part to the efforts of thousands of volunteers who celebrate the day while they help steward the parks and trails.

The number of visitors to these trails and their parks has been on the increase since COVID. According to an article in the Washington Post, “the Outdoor Participation Trends report revealed that, in 2020, 160.7 million Americans ages 6 and over participated in at least one outdoor activity, an increase of 7.1 million over 2019.”  During the COVID lockdowns, Americans sought respite and comfort in the outdoors, and so far, the numbers are not diminishing.  The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy found that, in 2021, trail use remained 36 percent higher than in 2019, including on the 2,297 rail-trails across the country. Based on unofficial reports from our own JCOS Open Space Parks, the visitor numbers this year are as high as (or higher than) 2021.

As COVID recedes into the background of our lives, it’s even more important to realize the difference that an hour or two of volunteerism can make.  JCOS Volunteer Services Specialist Matt Martinez, who contributed to the aforementioned WaPo article, said ““Even small things can make a big difference, and these obstacles can easily be addressed for our visitors who experience disabilities.”

Make your plans now, mark your calendars. The next National Trails Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 3^rd, 2023.  Keep your eyes open for the announcement from JCOS. Sign up for JCOS notifications. Consider volunteering at JCOS. Check the JCOS Events calendar as the date nears.  It takes a village!

This is just a sampling of what’s been happening in our Jefferson County Open Space Parks this fall. Miss Mountain Manners wants to remind all Park Visitors to recreate responsibly; when you encounter muddy, snow-covered or icy trails, walk through, 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”.

Subscribe, share, follow us at @PLANJeffco, @MannersMountain, Facebook.com/PLANJeffco — we appreciate your support!