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BATCO Newsletter, Summer 2000
"Trails for Today and Tomorrow"

BATCO's mission is to promote non-motorized, multi-use,
environmentally responsible trail systems.


Board of Directors

Eric Vogelsberg, President, 494-8586
Suzanne Webel, Vice President, 485-2162
Chris Morrison, Treasurer, 499-2033
Judd Adams, Secretary, 494-4241
Guy Burgess 499-0354
Brett Conrad 447-1948
Jim Knopf 494-8766
Dirk Vinlove 667-2467

Board Meetings

The Board meets every 3rd Thursday from 6:00 to approximately 9:00 PM at the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology building (the old NBS building) at 325 Broadway. Meetings are held in the conference rooms across from the auditorium. BATCO members and the public are welcome.

Articles In This Issue

Letter from the President

New Board Members

Membership Renewal Campaign

Championing a Trail System

Connection Ecology

Recent Activities Reviewed

National Trails Day 2000

Rock Creek/Coal Creek Trail System


Letter from the President

We've had some successes and faced some real challenges in the last year.

Among our successes are the County's approval of a trail connection between the Betasso Preserve and Boulder Canyon, the opening of a new loop trail at the Heil Valley Ranch, and a Forest Service decision to put a major set of proposed trail closures on "indefinite hold."

We've been concerned and active in many other similar issues including a proposed permanent dog ban for all of the North Foothills Open Space, loss of public access to City of Boulder Open Space, and threats to horse keeping properties and equestrian public land access. See our "Recent Activities Reviewed" article later in this newsletter for details of these and other BATCO activities.

We need Trail Champions! There are many "missing trail links" throughout Boulder County which could be constructed if they had someone to champion their advancement. BATCO has identified and prioritized these trail connections and has made recommendations to both the City of Boulder and Boulder County that they be constructed. But unless we find trail advocates who won't take "no" for an answer, they may languish indefinitely. See Chris Morrison's article, "Championing a Trail System", to see how you could become a BATCO Trail Champion.

Elsewhere in this newsletter Guy Burgess outlines the three phases the environmental movement has gone through to date and presents his recommendations for a new, more inclusive approach. Read his "Connection Ecology" article for some insights into how we got where we are today and what the future could bring.

Finally, if you haven't already renewed your membership for this year please take a moment to do so. Your support makes all our activities possible. We couldn't do it without you.


New Board Members

At our annual meeting this April two new members were elected to our Board of Directors: Brett Conrad and Dirk Vinlove.

Brett Conrad is the father of four, a Boulder resident for 18 years, a CU MBA graduate, and the Director of The Conrad Group, a management company focused on process flow and communication. His interests are trail running and mountain biking. He believes we humans are a critical part of the ecosystem, and is a proponent of a contiguous trail loops of 10 miles and above.

Dirk Vinlove is the new Executive Director of the Boulder Offroad Alliance, the friendly mountain bikers of Boulder County. This part-time professional position was funded for the first time beginning in January of this year. Dirk, his wife, and 16-month-old son recently moved to Colorado from Maine. Dirk is an avid cyclist, hiker and backcountry skier. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1989, and looks forward to helping keep trails open for all users to share in Boulder County. He can be reached at 303-667-2467 or at dirkvi@indra.com.


Membership Renewal Campaign

BATCO memberships are for the calendar year. We ask that continuing members try to renew in the spring. Memberships received in the last quarter of the year are considered paid in full for all of the next year. This May we launched our first member renewal campaign. We tried to mail a reminder to all of you whose memberships were due for renewal. We've received a positive response and appreciate your continued support.

If you have friends, neighbors, or anyone else who you think would like to help in our efforts, please tell them about BATCO. If you would like some BATCO brochures, contact any board member or send us e-mail via our Web Site and we'll be delighted to send you some.

The Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to offer special thanks to Eloise & Bob Joder for renewing their generous contribution as sustaining donors.


Championing a Trail System

Chris Morrison

Pick an Area or Trail you Care About

This is a long, frustrating process, so you have to be committed.

I chose the Rock Creek Farm/Carolyn Holmberg Preserve. It is near where I work at StorageTek, and I've always been interested in it, although I hadn't visited it before I got involved with the re-plan of the trail network there.

Get to Know the Area

A friend at StorageTek frequently hikes there with his dog.

We walked a long loop in the western half one afternoon.

On following days I walked all of the trails on Rock Creek Farm and in Broomfield's Lac Amora trail network.

Know the Players

  • City of Boulder Open Space
  • City of Boulder Mountain Parks
  • Boulder County Parks and Open Space
  • Louisville
  • Lafayette
  • Broomfield
  • Longmont
  • The Forest Service
  • The Bureau of Land Management (the BLM will give its isolated parcels to local governments, but it has to be open to recreation. They can't exclude us from land donated by the BLM)

BATCO can be a big help. Before I got involved with Rock Creek, Suzanne Webel and Eric Vogelsberg gave me some initial contacts. Suzanne told me about a livestock crossing under the railroad. Eric continued to advise me on other people to contact. To network with people in BATCO, the easy way is to come to the meetings:

Third Thursday at 6:00 in NIST, Room 1103.

Also ask everyone about who else is involved. This is the way Brian Hannegan, who planned the trails on Rock Creek, told me about Arnie Carlson, the Broomfield trails coordinator.

Recruit Others

Recruit local users of the area.

My friend goes there year round. He told me about how daily trips to inspect the oil and gas wells on the property churn up the roads (and trail) when it is muddy. His background is in Biology, so he knew the wildlife in the area.

Get BATCO people involved.

Eric Vogelsberg (who is on POSAC-Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee) came out for an afternoon. He had the latest Open Space maps. We walked the proposed trail corridor on the west side. Then we looked at how the Broomfield trail network ties into the Rock Creek trails.

At the POSAC meeting, I almost had nothing to say, because Eric spoke first and made all my points.

Get support from other people in government.

Are there any people in the Open Space, Parks and Recreation, or Transportation who think that a trail would be a fine idea?

I think Brian Hannegan, the landscape architect/ planner, was surprised at how a nice trail design was trimmed back. In the re-plan, we lost a third of the trails at Rock Creek.

Scott Robson is responsible for planning the Rock Creek trail.

Arne Carlson, the Broomfield trail planner told me about their new pedestrian and bike underpass north of 10th street. This is not accessible to equestrians. I don't think Broomfield allows horses on their concrete bike and people paths. It also ends now in a King Soopers parking lot.

Arne also told me about Broomfield's plans for the Rock Creek Trail segment that will connect Rock Creek Farm with FlatIron Crossing.

Get the Official Information

Ask for the reports/plans. Talk to people about updates.

Give them Feedback, Make Alternative Proposals

A trail along the west side of US 287 had been cancelled, partly due to concerns about law enforcement at a parking overlook. We want a trail, not a car overlook. I asked them to reconsider the trail. I followed up conversations in person and over the phone with a letter. I sent copies of the letter to several other people, including Ron Stewart.

Be Persistent, not Offensive

The Open Space departments and Forest Service are mainly staffed by people who believe that whenever recreational access impacts wildlife or "the environment", public access must be restricted. The result can be more and more closed space.

They aren't going away. Neither are we. This is an ongoing relationship, albeit a frustrating one. They think we are misguided, and we think they are. We have to work with them on future issues, so try to be civil.

Practice good office politics. You know, how do you treat the person at work that you want to strangle, but you can't? Listen to their arguments, disagree, but don't make it personal. We all may even learn from each other. Some co-workers that I thought fools or knaves, became people I had common interests with. Mutual respect is valuable.

(Of course, I'm sure some really are fools or knaves. I still try to be civil. I just don't socialize with them.)

Wait and Follow Up

Boulder County Parks and Open Space will decide on a trail on the west side of 287 later. I plan on remaining involved.


Connection Ecology: The Next Phase of the Environmental Movement?

Guy Burgess

To date the environmental movement has gone through three phases. The challenges of continuing population growth are now demanding that the movement enter a fourth phase-connection ecology. Without a move toward connection ecology increasing access restrictions will increasingly separate people from their natural environment, undermining human quality of life and the environmental constituency.

Phase 1: Legacy Parks (Yellowstone through Mission 66)

Guiding Principle: Organic Act 1916, "...conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Accomplishments: Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Arches, National Forest campgrounds and trails, Boulder Mountain Parks, etc.; 90+% visitation legacy sites.

Shortcomings: Weak understanding of complex eco-dynamics, failure to protect non-park lands, overly commercial focus.

Phase 11: Outrage and Revolution (Silent Spring through the Energy Crisis)

Guiding Principle: Opposition to Environmental Outrages.

Accomplishments: Clean Air and Water Acts as well as other key environmental legislation. Creation of an environmental consensus. Defeat or pro-environmental modification of countless major projects (Glenwood Canyon, Vail Pass, oil shale, Rocky Flats, nuclear power, Marble and Bridge Canyons...

Shortcomings: Not prepared for success, unable to deal with the "close call" issues.

Phase III: Hold the Line/Separation Ecology (1980/90's Boom/Great Bull Market)

Guiding Principle: "Earth First. No compromise in defense of mother earth." Opposition to "industrial tourism." Institutionalization of the revolutionary phase.

Accomplishments: Wilderness areas, open space programs, wetland and endangered species protection.

Shortcomings: Undervalues human visitation. Little consideration given for the costs of environmental protection. Doesn't search for visitation/protection win/win. Subject to co-option/land grab. Contributes to excessive pressure on legacy parks. Diminished visitor experience. Increasing separation between humans and the natural environment.

Phase IV: Connection (Coexistence) Ecology (The next step, I hope)

Guiding Principles: Earth and people first.

Potential Accomplishments: Encourages and accommodates human visitation. Innovative, win-win visitation/ protection solutions. Builds quality-of-life for all citizens. Builds environmental constituency.

Likely Shortcomings: Accepts some environmental risk and damage. Will require repair and restoration (probably less than long term separation ecology).


Recent Activities Reviewed

Here are a few snapshots of trails issues on which BATCO has been working on your behalf this year.

Betasso-Boulder Canyon Trail:

A braided set of social mountain bike trails has long connected Boulder County's Betasso Preserve to Boulder Canyon. We supported getting one alignment designated as an official trail. The County's Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee approved the designation and the County Commissioners have accepted their recommendation.

Forest Service abandons plans to close trails on Winiger Ridge.

For several years, BATCO has been working with the Forest Service on its Travel Management Plan for the entire swath of Roosevelt National Forest from Boulder to the Continental Divide. We were stunned to learn that they were proposing to close more than 60% of all the roads and designated trails-and essentially all of the social trails-in this huge area. We collaborated with several other non-motorized trail advocate groups to analyze the data, pore over maps, talk with neighbors, and propose alternatives. The Forest Service has recently announced that they have put their trail closure plan on "indefinite hold." Our diligence, expertise, and networking really paid off on this one!

Heil Valley Ranch Trails:

We've campaigned to open Boulder County's spectacular Heil Valley Ranch to the public. A new 1.5 mile pedestrian loop trail was recently opened there. Later this summer, we hope to participate in the construction of the first section of a multi-use trail that will eventually provide a connection from Lefthand Canyon to Lyons. The alignment for this next stage of the trail system has recently received tentative approval and the County intends to begin construction soon. When completed (hopefully by next spring), the new trails will add more than 4 miles to the existing Lichen trail and will provide a round trip in excess of 7 miles.

Dog Policy for North Foothills Open Space (Boulder County's Hall and Heil Valley Ranches)

A one year moratorium on dogs at Hall Ranch was enacted in 1997 by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), and has continued for three more years, in spite of efforts by BATCO and FIDOS to allow limited access to dogs in this area. Since the original moratorium, a second trail has been built at Hall Ranch and on-leash compliance has improved from 55% to 73%. Both these items were initially considered requirements for allowing dog access. Nevertheless, the staff proposed converting the moratorium to a permanent ban, and to include the Heil Valley Ranch. BATCO has consistently opposed this plan, arguing that staff's data are flawed, their goal of 90% leash compliance arbitrary, and compliance is improving. Without BATCO, the Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee would probably have voted for the ban. They opted instead to extend it for another five years. This recommendation was accepted by the County Commissioners. Commissioner Paul Danish also suggested making provision for some limited dog access next year as part of a study to help determine if the feared impacts are in fact real.

Horse keeping properties and equestrian access to public lands are still threatened.

We have been dismayed to watch the closure of equestrian properties and horse facilities around the City of Boulder. Fences with locked gates are being constructed in many places on "Open Space," and the Open Space Board of Trustees and City Council have been unresponsive to our complaints that more than half of all their properties are officially or de facto closed to equestrians.

Private trail access to City of Boulder Open Space is still being condoned, while public access points are being closed.

The area behind Devils Thumb in South Boulder is a particularly troubling development, as there are several improved trails leading from a private enclave of homes to the public lands in their backyards from which the public is banned.

For additional details of these and other BATCO activities visit our Web site at http:/bcn.boulder.co.us/batco/


National Trails Day 2000

We had hoped to hold this year's National Trails Day project at the County's Heil Valley Ranch Open Space. We were looking forward to helping build the first stage of a multi-use trail system that is planned to ultimately connect with the Hall Ranch trails west of Lyons. Unfortunately defining an appropriate trail alignment took longer than had been anticipated. Instead we worked at the County's Carolyn Holmberg Preserve/Rock Creek Farm property. Almost 50 volunteers and county staff spent the morning constructing portions of a new trail that will eventually be incorporated into an east-west trail from the Weld County border to the town of Superior.

A tentative trail alignment at The Heil Valley Ranch has since been approved and the County is planning several after work trail projects this summer to help with its construction. We will post the dates and times of the projects on the BATCO Web site and send out an e-mail notification as soon as we get the details from the County.


Rock Creek/Coal Creek Trail System

Discussions with Scott Robson of the County's Transportation Department provided some positive news about the Rock Creek and Coal Creek trail system. Ultimately the system will consist of two trails following Rock and Coal Creeks from west of Highway 36 in Superior to the east County border where the trails will join together. Connections in the west to the County's and Boulder City's open spaces and then to Forest Service lands could eventually reach to the continental divide. On the east there are potential connections with Broomfield and Weld County trails. Today a large portion of the Coal Creek trail is a reality. The trail stretches almost continuously from Dillon Road in Louisville to 120th Street. One small missing section between Public Road and a trail segment west of 120th Street is scheduled for completion this summer. Louisville has been successfully working with private owners and developers to acquire and construct a westward extension of the trail from Dillon Road under HW36 to Superior. We anticipate this connection will be made in the next few years.

There's more work to be done on the Rock Creek trail component of the system. The County is in the process of constructing a new alignment at the Carolyn Holmberg Preserve/Rock Creek Farm (see the National Trails Day article for some additional details) that will be a major component of the trail. A connection with Broomfield's Lac Amora trail is in the plans. The RTD has recently acquired land to the west of the Rock Creek Farm that should provide connection under Highway 36 to Interlocken and Superior. The final piece of the puzzle, a connection east from the Rock Creek Farm to the Coal Creek Trail, will probably have to wait until the new toll highway from I-25 to Highway 36 is built. The highway plans are making allowances for the ultimate completion of the trail system.