Happy Anniversary, Mountain Parks!

One hundred years ago, citizens of Denver passed a mill levy to create a Mountain Parks system. In celebration, today we launched a redesign of our websites and a new timeline to review key milestones of the last century in the Mountain Parks. We'll be celebrating the rest of this year, and most of 2013 as well, so we'll keep you posted of coming events here as well as on the main website.

The new website look has a rotating header image. Every time you refresh or change pages, you'll see a different park photo. See how many you can recognize, and plan to visit unfamiliar spots throughout the centennial period.

As always, we welcome your feedback on our parks and programs. Stay tuned for event updates, and click on "comments" below to let us know what you think. We look forward to celebrating with you!

Bison Auction sets New Record

March 9, 2012 at Genesee Park: With bison prices at an all-time high and a record number of calves available from the City's two herds, this year's auction generated records in several areas. Buyer interest was brisk, and we had a great day for the event.

Denver has been auctioning off its surplus calves since 1985, but receipts haven't always covered the costs of maintaining the popular herds at Genesee Park and Daniels Park. This year's record proceeds of $40,650 more than covered auction costs (about $5,000) and hay purchased in 2011 ($25,000), yielding a profit of more than $10,000. Better grass at Genesee contributes to a slight advantage, but the Daniels herd has contributed an average of 47% of the sale over the last four years.

A crowd gathers as bidders line up for the auctioneer. The bids move quickly up from a starting bid, and this year averaged more than $1200 per animal.

Buyers, like this ranch family, size up the offerings and figure out exactly what they want to pay for each animal they will bid on.

Buyers come from around the state, and some even from other western states, to participate in the auction each year.

Successful buyers line up at the table to pay for their purchases after the auction.

Want to come try your hand next year? Make sure you have a sturdy fence—and bring cash...

Kudos to the Team

It's been a hectic and productive year in the Mountain Park system. Last week the crew was honored with a "Workgroup of the Year" award from the Parks & Recreation Department. Most of us were able to escape downtown long enough to receive the plaque (center, held by DMP Superintendent Dick Gannon) from new Parks & Rec manager Lauri Dannemiller.

The award is based on customer service, teamwork, and attention to sustainability. A few highlights from the nomination that won us this title:

• Coordinated more than 5,000 hours of volunteer effort on trails and other projects, including closing social trails and constructing new trail in Red Rocks Park
  
• Worked with Americorps NCCC and Mile High Youth Corps teams for more than 5 months to accomplish project work, including new and restored trails
  
• Improved forest health and mitigated wildfire hazard on more than 300 acres of parklands
  
• Rebuilt Chicago Overlook Trail at Summit Lake Park to improve access and reduce damage to sensitive tundra vegetation; new interpretive signs there will educate visitors
  

As we move into winter mode, we will be losing our seasonal staff for a few months. Early in 2012, two of our nine full-time team members plan to retire. We expect to continue to find creative ways to get the job done!

Upcoming Firewood Sales

The recent firewood sale in Fillius Park was deemed a success, and more sales are planned. Call 303-279-9757 or visit CSFS Golden District office, 1504 Quaker Street, Golden CO 80401 to determine availability and arrange for a permit.

Coming this month and next:

• September 10, 17, and 24 in Genesee Park
  
• October 1 in Pence Mountain Park

See the firewood flyer for details.

Mountain Parks in the News

A couple of new stories on the Mountain Parks have appeared at various locations lately.

• The Denver Post published Genesee mix of trails, living history by Maria Cote on Saturday, September 3rd.
  
  
• The Colorado State Forest Service has assisted in managing forests at Denver's Mountain Parks since the late 1970s. They recently published a "success story" about our efforts under a 2010 ARRA (stimulus) grants, led by new Mountain Parks forester Andy Perri.

For an index to other news and magazine articles published this year, see Recent Stories.

In other developments, the new Twitter account for Denver Parks & Rec sometimes offers news about the Mountain Parks. Follow @DenverParksRec to keep up with what's happening in the parks.

Firewood Sales Start Tomorrow

Permits for firewood collecting in the Denver Mountain Parks will be on sale Friday August 12-Saturday August 13 at the Colorado State Forest Service Golden District office, 1504 Quaker Street, Golden CO 80401. (Phone 303-279-9757.)

A limited number of permits will be sold for specific park sites and weekend dates. Permits will be specific to the date and location – no changes or substitutions will be possible. Future permit sales will depend on the availability of unsold permits.

Please see additional details in the flyer, including permit prices and collecting dates.

Flag Day at Genesee Mountain

More than 75 participants and guests enjoyed a grand occasion Tuesday at the summit of Genesee Mountain: the 100th anniversary of the first flag raising by the Peace Pipe Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Since June 14, 1911, DAR members have celebrated annually, and this year's centennial recalled the pomp of the early flag-raisings.


The Mile High Fife & Drum Corps led a processional of the Sons of the American Revolution color guard, with General George Washington in attendance. His speech was a highlight, as were remarks from Donald Cluxton, grandson of Grace E. Tarbell, who led the Peace Pipe Chapter at the very first flag-raising.


Dave Wallace, of Making History Come Alive, portrayed an authentic George Washington and stirred the crowd with reminders of the original patriots and the symbolism of the flag.


Charlotte Hubbs (left), Colorado State Regent, with Judy Kriss, Peace Pipe Chapter Regent and organizer of the 2011 event. Judy read a proclamation from Mayor Bill Vidal of Denver commemorating the occasion.

The new flag, presented to Denver Mountain Parks superintendent Dick Gannon, flew over the U.S. Capitol on April 19th, the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington. As the fife and drum played the national anthem, Old Glory rose on its lanyard.

Read more at the Denver Post.


The musketeers offered a colorful 21-gun salute to complete the program, and piper Jeannine Dobbins of Sarah Platt Decker Chapter played as the crowd dispersed.

New Trail Open at Summit Lake

The new improved version of the Chicago Lakes Overlook Trail is now open and being enjoyed by visitors to this popular spot on Mount Evans. The trail was completed in August 2010, just before the road was closed for the season last fall.

The trail improvement project, along with the new restrooms at Summit Lake Park, was funded by a State Trails Grant and Land & Water Conservation Funds, matched by Denver's share of Mt. Evans fees collected by the Forest Service at the fee station. Installation of new interpretive signs this summer will mark the completion of this project. Future improvements at Summit Lake Park will include revegetation of social trails and the old roadbed.

Innumerable rocks and full-sized boulders were moved, often by hand. This project in the high alpine required a delicate touch, provided by the hands-on expertise of Fort-Collins-based Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. Their dedicated and tough workers endured challenging weather conditions and high altitude to get the job done.

A key part of the project was preventing damage to adjacent areas, and relocating plants that were in the path of new trail. Salvage and revegetation, shown in photo below, were a major emphasis, with plants moved by hand from disturbed areas. Although recovery is slow in alpine tundra, we expect that the trail will soon blend in with the surrounding terrain.


All photos by Matt Brown, taken during construction last summer, July 20, 2010.

New Arrivals at Genesee

This year there has been a lot of interest in our bison herds, especially the original herd at Genesee Park. An article appeared in the March issue of Colorado Serenity, and the Denver Post discussed our breeding program on March 21^st.

Today we met with Ginger Delgado, of Fox 31, for an on-scene photo shoot of bison babies (we call them calves) at Genesee Park. Marty Homola, bison caretaker at Genesee Park for the last 40 years, was on hand for the interview.

The herd was feisty, thanks to weather changes in the offing and thunder rolling overhead, and the calves got a workout, running in front of the herd.

Because the herd was so active and unsettled, we managed to get some good shots of them running, even in a full gallop at times. Bison can do 35 miles per hour when they want to! Newborn calves almost "hit the ground running"; they are able to keep up within a few hours of birth, an important trait in herd animals that are frequently on the move.

We also got some good closeups, especially after hay was brought to settle their mood a bit. Who can't help being mellow when there's something good to eat at hand?

Update 6/3/11: See Fox 31 Denver for video and story... Thanks, Fox 31!

As of this date (5/23), there are 18 calves at Genesee, with a few more expected. The Daniels Herd has produced 11 calves so far this year. The calves are frisky, and a couple chased each other around the pond a few times for good measure.

And what could be cuter than these little red 50-lb bundles of joy? They considered munching the hay, but most decided it made for really comfy bedding instead. It will be a few months before they get as interested in hay or grass as they are in mom.

More photos follow. All photos here are by Sally White or Matt Brown.

Mountain Parks News

Although this blog has been dormant since the completion of the Master Plan, there's still a lot going on with Denver's Mountain Parks! We are re-activating the blog to keep in touch and give you an opportunity to provide feedback on our park system. We'll try to keep you posted on some of the developments relevant to park users as they occur in the summer of 2011.

Changes are coming to our main websites as well, so stay tuned!

Posts below were largely related to the 2008 Master Plan and its public outreach efforts.

Civilian Conservation Corps Comes to Colorado

In October 2009, friends and former members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) will meet in the Denver area to honor the efforts and accomplishments of the most popular New Deal program. Preliminary information is posted in this notice, which will be updated as details become available.

Tours and field trips will complement discussions and speakers at this annual event. A feature of the meeting will be the annual business meeting of the CCC Legacy organization. Attendees will visit Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the "most celebrated" of their works, according to historian Tom Noel.

Final Master Plan Posted

The Denver Mountain Parks Master Plan was approved by the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board in September 2008. The final version is now available online at the Master Plan page.

Remembering CCC Contributions

Denver Mountain Parks is just one of the many agencies that benefited from the New Deal programs of the 1930s. A feature spread in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News is bringing us renewed benefits in contacts with and stories from the families of some of the men who served. We thank reporters Katie Kerwin McCrimmon and Kevin Flynn and photographer Matt McClain for an excellent job presenting the lasting effects of this program and honoring the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration.

Yesterday, among other emails, we received this photo of Fred Johncox, who enrolled in the CCC in Minnesota in 1934. His son graciously allowed us to share it online. We plan to have more stories and information online at our Mountain Parks History website soon. In the meantime, if you missed yesterday's stories, here are links to the online versions:

The Forgotten Generation

Fruits of the Depression

Historic CCC Camp to Become Museum

Here's another link—this one to an article by historian Tom Noel, aka "Dr. Colorado," in the Denver Post.

Additional Comments on Master Plan

Besides email comments, survey responses, and other comments from individuals (posted on this blog), we have recently received several letters addressing organization's comments on the Master Plan. These include:

• A letter from Inter-neighborhood Cooperation (INC) of Denver.
  
  
• A letter from the Board of County Commissioners of Jefferson County.
  
  
• An email from John Litz, of PLAN Jeffco (open space advocacy group), at previous post.

Recently, the Denver Parks and Recreation Department sent a letter to City Council addressing rock climbing in the Mountain Parks. Copies of the letter were sent to Access Fund.

Comments from Open Space Advocate

From John Litz, PLAN Jeffco*, October 22, 2008:

I have carefully reviewed the Denver Mountain Parks Draft Master Plan and must say that I am impressed. The PLAN Jeffco Board of Directors have not collectively reviewed the plan, but I believe that I can convey the consensus.

The plan is very ambitious, which it must be after more than 50 years of benign neglect. I would put maintenance, restoration, and updated restrooms at the top of the list. Jefferson County Open Space's (JCOS) experience is that vandals are less apt to chose well-maintained facilities. Next I would put upgrading of trails and attempting to close social trails. JCOS has good experience using volunteers and youth work programs. It seems to me that one can find grants for funding work programs for inner-city youth. That also might impact the park use by African-Americans. (It is interesting to note very high use of the parks by those of Hispanic heritage.)

Following are comments relating to specific pages in the draft.

• Page 19: The values used for the land values are low. The Open Space Advisory Committee has just approved a $100,000+ per acre purchase adjacent to Elk Meadow Park. I think that $10,000 per acre would be a better average; since much of the acreage in the larger parks is very developable.
  
  
• Page 35: In discussing revenue items comment is made on sharing Jefferson County sales tax. Note that this tax is not a use tax so it only would apply to items purchased on site. At 0.1% I doubt that the amount collected could have a significant impact on the DMP budget. Additionally the enabling resolution only allows the tax to the shared with cities based on automobile registrations. Red Rocks is neither a city nor has any resident vehicles.
  
  
• Page 36: I definitely agree on the need for dedicated funding.
  
  
• Page 64: I would not count on being able to make fixed facilities on the parks profitable. JCOS has found the maintenance of buildings exceeds the potential revenue. An example is the Boettcher Mansion on Lookout. Jefferson County has had to use Conservation Trust Funds as the financing source for necessary maintenance. The income can cover operating costs, but not major maintenance. The Cody [Buffalo Bill] Museum is unique in that it is an international draw.
  
  
• Page 153: Because the DMPs are integrated into other County park systems, partnerships can be a way of extending the resources of both parties. Unfortunately, without better funding DMP cannot provide much financial resources to the partnerships.

So it all gets down to dedicated funding. PLAN Jeffco has managed two campaigns to obtain voter approval for funding. Our experience is, with a campaign that gets adequate information to the voters, approval is possible. Our two favorable votes were 60% and 74%. I believe that in 2006, 70% of park and open space issues across the country passed. Your resistance will be the Denver City Council not the voters. In 1972 we had no support from city councils, just their staff.

Good luck as you move the Plan forward.

John Litz, PLAN Jeffco Vice-Chair/Treasurer

*PLAN Jeffco is a citizen’s organization who helped start Jefferson County’s Open Space program in 1972 and is still involved in an oversight capacity.