THERE WILL NOT BE A MEETING MAY 1, 2018!!!
Program: Jefferson County Open Space
Matt Robbins, Community Connections Manager
Matt joined us to talk about Jefferson County Open Space. Their mission is to preserve, protect and provide the public access land in our county. The initiative for Open Spaces started with a group of women in the county and the support and guidance of the League of Women Voters. JeffCo Open Space is funded by taxes, the first such funding model in the country. A ½% sales tax was passed in 1972.
Our JeffCo Open Spaces provide outdoor recreation, nature and history information, including hubs and conservation of scenic landscapes, natural resources, and wildlife habitat. The Open Space Team includes committees for stewardship, visitor services, planning and projects, administration and real estate, and the community connections.
System Stats:
- Over 54,000 acres preserved
- 28 parks
- 252 miles of trails
- White Ranch park, at 5,406 acres, is the largest park
- There are about 6.9 million visitors per year
- Top activities: hiking, dog walking and mountain biking
Record high activity levels (good news) have caused problems of over-crowding and illegal road-way parking (bad news). The 2014-2019 Master Plan Goals have all been met or exceeded:
- Preservation
- Stewardship
- Trails
- Communications and community involvement
- Nature and park related history education - education has exceeded 133,000 people
- Volunteerism - has exceeded 48,200 volunteers—there are 30 volunteers for every paid staff position (there are a huge variety of volunteer positions—man the welcome center, count raptors or other animals, weed pulling, office work, etc.)
- Visitor stewardship
- Nature-health connection
Community Engagement includes turning visitors into stewards; communications and messaging; education about issues; finding a balance between preservation and outdoor recreation. Open Space also works with other parks districts to develop common guidelines for use.
Guest: Emily Ehlers, prospective new member
Announcements/Business:
- Finn visited Clear Creek Rotary which has grown from 10 to 22 members!
- Mountain Area Home and Garden Show is this weekend at Evergreen High School with set up Friday afternoon and the Show on Saturday and Sunday. If you have not signed up to volunteer, please join us during any time period.
- Rotary District 5450 Celebration May 19 in Denver.
- Rotary International is the end of June.
- Interviews for Scholarships at Conifer High School last week; this week the Platte Canyon students will be interviewed. The kids are very inspirational!
- Funding is still needed for the Interact trip to Kenya. You may donate through the Conifer Rotary Foundation using a link on our website.
- Please send your Rotary volunteer hours to Lesley Landon, Secretary, so that they can be logged into the RI website.
Member Auto-Biography: Wes Paxton
Wes was introduced to Rotary when he was at the Adams 12 School District many years ago. He joined Greeley Rotary when he moved there and joined Conifer Rotary when he came here as Conifer High School Principal. His passion is helping kids with leadership and self-development and sees Rotary as a tremendous support in that endeavor.
Wes was raised in Phoenix but comes from a pioneer ranching family on the Western Slope of Colorado. One half of is family were pioneers from Arkansas. His grandmother encouraged him to attend CU Boulder. His first job was in Denver Public Schools. He was there for 12 years—as a teacher and administrator. He then went to Commerce City and turned the high school around as the principal. The Greeley high school also needed a turn around principal; and then he came to Conifer.
Congratulations to Dean McCall, a Conifer Rotary member for 4 Years