Boulder County Open Space debates shifting to fee-based recreation.

There's debate ensuing in Leave No Trace's hometown of Boulder, Colorado. The subject: whether or not to begin a pilot program that would charge non-residents to use Open Space trails.

Boulder County's Parks and Open Space program was initiated in the mid-1960s by citizens interested in preserving land from rapid development. Since then, the city has spent $208 million to purchase more than 45,000 acres of open space in and around Boulder. Over 65% of land in Boulder County is protected from development by Boulder County and federal, state, and local agencies, either through conservation easements or land ownership.

Today, Boulder County still has more than 5,800 acres left in its master plan -- at an estimated cost of about $100 million.

To generate the funding needed for the rest of this land acquisition, another model program is being discussed at the city level: to begin charging a fee for non-Boulder County residents who use city-owned trails.

With a high influx of recreational users coming from the surrounding Denver metro areas, the program could be successfully tested at certain trailheads first where a high preponderance of these users visit.

On the flip side, many of these recreational users, while they live in Denver or the surrounding areas, have relocated to Colorado to enjoy the bounty of outdoor experiences this area has to offer. For these folks, living outside of Boulder is more a matter of occupational convenience, not because they spend any less time here.

Why charge only non-residents of Boulder County?

How will this effect the high-impact recreational areas of Boulder, should the city decide to ease in to this transition? Would focusing the pilot at certain trails cause outdoor users to simply shift their recreation to another trailhead?

Could this pilot, like the original Open Space program, have national implication in the long-run should it succeed?

To learn more:
Full Article, "Boulder could charge non-residents to use open space trails," Daily Camera
Boulder County Parks and Open Space Website

Image: Local residents of Boulder Colorado enjoying Flagstaff Mountain, an area already instituting fee-based recreation for non-Boulder County residents. Sara Close.

New Frontcountry Guidelines for Dogs...

... Even if it's only for a short time!

Boulder, Colorado is bringing back the Annual Dog Dayz event that puts a little extra "pep" in the step of many local dogs... and in some cases, maybe even a "spring" in the form of a diving board.

During this quirky and loved event, the rules are flipped at the local pool: "No humans allowed in the water." Just dogs - and hundreds of them, at that.

It always pays to be aware of your local land manager and town regulations on pets, and this is no exception. After all, you wouldn't want to miss out on a fun event like this!

Check it out the full feature on Dog Dayz at Boulder Daily Camera's website.

Sometimes pavement is all you've got

Sometimes, maybe lots of times, you just have to get outside and concrete is the only choice. That seemed to be just fine this week as the Leave No Trace Board of Directors met May 5-6 to talk shop at their spring meeting in Denver. Board and staff members shared ideas and experiences as we discussed current programs, operations and strategies for the year and beyond. And to have a little afternoon fun, the group hit a paved trail along the Platte River for an urban hiking excursion. Not exactly wilderness but, non-the-less, beautiful, front country that provided a wonderful walk for our group. Our own David Jayo from REI supplied trash bags and gloves and, together, the board and staff picked up as much trash as possible while hiking and enjoying a lovely, downtown spring day in Denver. Just goes to show, you can enjoy the great outdoors just about anywhere!

Phoenix Partnership Kicks Off!

Leave No Trace and the City of Phoenix have partnered up recently and in order to celebrate we spent the past 6 days working with Park Rangers and volunteer park stewards from across the city. Our first event was a press conference to kick off the partnership. ABC 15 came out to interview us on the importance of a Leave No Trace Front Country program in the City of Phoenix. As record numbers of people are coming out to enjoy the beautiful parks within the city, education is key in preserving and protecting these areas from being loved to death.

The City of Phoenix has taken an ultra comprehensive approach to embrace the Leave No Trace program city-wide. Not only have they created 10,000 hang tags to give to their park visitors, they also had 15 of their rangers attend the Leave No Trace trainer course and they are encouraging all their rangers to become a member of Leave No Trace! Above are some photos taken over the 6 days we spent in Phoenix. This partnership is truly impressive and will set a new precedent for future partnerships with the Center! A special thanks goes out to Chrissy McFetridge for all her hard work in setting up these events!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy