|
|
On the Issues
|
Open Space
My involvement in the open space program over the last ten years -- as a lawyer, manager, and now commissioner -- has been a great joy.
During my term in office, Boulder County has preserved about 6,400 acres (about ten square miles) of land as open space. A few highlights of the acquisition
program during the last few years are the North Pointe property next to Heil Valley Ranch, which
our wildlife biologist called the best habitat of any open space acquisition he had seen
in his career at Boulder County; the acquisition of major creek corridors,
including a beautiful stretch of the St. Vrain west of Longmont; and the Benjamin property
(I like the name) next to the Betasso preserve, which will allow for the long-term
preservation of important habitat as well as allow for the expansion of our mountain biking
trail system. And thanks to the passage of the open space sales tax extension last year,
we will continue to be able to acquire important open space properties for at least a couple
more years.
We continue to ramp up efforts in our management of our open space lands and as a result
have made tremendous progress in the last few years. We completed a number of comprehensive
management plans, added about 15 miles of recreational trails (with more to come, including
the Heil Valley Ranch to Lyons connection), and increased dramatically the pace at which
we are restoring native prairie, removing noxious weeds and Russian olive trees, and
improving damaged creek corridors.
Boulder County now owns about 25,000 acres of open space agricultural land. We recently appointed some top-notch people to
a newly-formed Food and Agricultural Policy Council with the charge of figuring out the best ways to encourage organic and community-supported farming in the county, finding ways to match local agricultural production with local markets so we can all eat locally grown food, and developing strategies for preserving the viability
of agriculture in the County for years to come.
<< Return to Issues page
|
|
|
Home