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September 21, 2002

Karl Anuta, Jim Burrus, Ken Foelske, Jim Hester, Ed Mills, Ann Mygatt, Kevin Probst, Dick Schillawski, Barbara Taylor, Suzanne Webel

The Land Use Coalition, Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space, Boulder County Horse Association, Rock Shox, Boulder Area Trails Coalition, City of Louisville Land Management Department, Town of Superior

Jack Gathright, Ed Mills, Ann Mygatt, Barbara Taylor, Suzanne Webel, Mark Steen

Over 130

Keynote Speech

Panel Presentations and Discussions

Breakout Sessions

Wrap-up

Garry Sanfacon, Cold Springs Consulting

Keith Fairmont, KF Insight

Attorney General Ken Salazar on "The Colorado Crown Jewels Legacy Program"

User groups and public land managers/decision makers placed issues of interest with regard to open space in Boulder County on the table.

Ken Foelske, Moderator

Jefferson County Open Space Planning Manager

Gary Sprung, International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA)

Justin Dombrowski, City of boulder Wildland Fire Management Officer

Larry MacDonnell, City of Boulder Open Space Board Trustees

Ed Mills, President of Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space (FIDOS)

Kevin Probst, President of the Land Use Coalition of Boulder County (LUC)

Ron Stewart, Director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space

Suzanne Webel, President of Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) and

Vice President of Boulder Area Trails Coalition (BATCO)

This report is a summary of the comments from the Our Common Ground forum held September 21, 2002. The forum was organized to begin a process of addressing perceived problems regarding the acquisition, management, and use of Open Space Lands in Boulder County. The goal was to initiate discussions among government entities, public interest groups, and the general public over what policies should be used in determining what lands are purchased, how they are purchased, how they are managed, what uses are made of public lands, what public access is allowed, and how public lands are cared for and managed. It was recognized from the beginning that this would be a FIRST step, but that what was ultimately needed was a CONTINUING DIALOG on these subjects. During the Wrap-Up session, a list of volunteers interesting in continuing the process was compiled. These volunteers formed the Common Ground Committee and have been meeting regularly since October. Their recommendations for achieving common ground are also included in the report.

The forum took over seven months to organize and execute, and this work was performed by a steering committee made up of a variety of public interest groups and interested individuals. The forum cost approximately $3500. Funds came from organizations, individuals, and government sponsors.

The forum was pleased to have State Attorney General Ken Salazar as the keynote speaker. Mr. Salazar spoke on the importance of public lands and the "Crown Jewels" project in Colorado. The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion of issues and approaches to Open Space Lands, and included questions and answers from the public.

The most significant segment of the forum was the breakout session where the public and the panel members convened in smaller groups to begin identifying approaches to reaching common ground regarding Open Space. These groups provided recommendations to whole which are summarized at the end of this report.

The top recommendations from the forum included:

1. There is a serious need to find common ground regarding the acquisition, use and management of Open Space Lands.
2. There needs to be an on-going process similar to the "Our Common Ground" forum for exploring issues and finding solutions.
3. The government entities, including Boulder County, and the cities and towns in the county need to take the lead on organizing and hosting future forums or other events.
4. The public and all interested public groups need to be involved in organizing and conducting future events.
5. There is a strong public interest in these issues, and in finding common ground, that needs to be recognized and accommodated.

The forum concluded with a wrap up session during which Ron Stewart from Boulder County and Larry MacDonnell from Boulder Open Space Board Trustees committed to taking the lead on future Our Common Ground events.

What measures does OS take to manage pest & noxious weed populations? How much emphasis is placed on giving priority to non-chemical (or) less-toxic means? - Leah Shafer <leah.shafer@colorado.edu>

Need policy to approve/disapprove crossing of open space by public utilities.

Idea for O.S. on prairie-type lands. Remove pasture grasses & weeds. Re-vegetate w/native grasses that won't require water, weed mgmt or future expenses. Allow wildlife to return. Allow trails on outer edges of such properties for recreation & observation. From Penny Dumas < jpbdumas@aol.com>

Need more objective science!

Open space must be a wildlife preserve. Trails for humans. That's it.

Close Wonderland Hill Lake to fishing. Trash left in fishing area-cans, styrofoam, wrappers, hooks. Close Wonderland Hill Lake Peninsula to the Space & trails. Aspen. Birch. Evergreen. Pine. Oak. Landscape east side of Wonderland Hill Lake with shrubs and trees & fencing along trail and bordering peninsula.

What effect will the Visitor Plan have on dog regulations on Boulder Open Space?

Idea to offer for OS on prairie-type lands -- Remove pasture grasses. Re-vegetate w/native grasses that will not require water, weed mgmt, future expenses. Allow wildlife to return. Allow trails on outer edges for observation & recreation. From Penny Dumas jpbdumas@aol.com, 303-545-9290.

Open Space - Most new purchased parcels are designated "no use" - it seems pure preservation is driving all new lands. We need a Balance of use plan to address all of these needs on new lands. We need involvement from the time of purchase to the draft of use plan of all special interest groups. This should be a part of the development prior to presentation to the councils.

Avoid the trap of the "King's lands" where citizens are regarded as interlopers on a managed resource.

Visitor Plan - need Education not regulation! (Don't need more restrictions on users - don't restrict peds & equestrians to on-trail-use only.)

In areas that are currently not containing livestock, gates should be secured open with wire or chain, particularly when there is no livestock in that section for several months. U.S. Forest Service ranchers do a good job of leaving gates open at appropriate times, but not the City Open Space.

Identify a real influential recreational advocate on staff.

Re: Visitor Plan -- Will photographers be able to step off the trail to take pictures?

Need more trails with high quality user experience! (not trails on periphery of property).

(no comments affixed...)

( flip-chart not found)

Suzanne: Good content, good pace, appropriate points. Thanks for your effort & energy. Jack G.

Concept of Adopt an Open Space. Those who want no human use could enforce closed areas. Those who want bikes can help enforce no hikers, etc. or dog trail mgmt

We have for 25 years been trying to mitigate the effect of a horse trail across our property. We still haven't totally succeeded. How can you say your 4- legged metal clad behemoths don't cause a problem and that nature is resilient - I'd say you spout a bogus message.

Why is the expectation that environmental community must prove that an activity is harmful, rather than user groups proving that an activity is harmless?

Ms. Webel clearly misunderstood Rick Knight's study. It's too bad he wasn't invited here to interpret his own study.

I agree: wildlife is resilient. Balance will be found toward more trails in future.

Too much land is being purchased for nature study (only). User-conflicts aren't a big problem (people are learning to get along).

The County hasn't bought enough land, especially small parcels that threaten the mountain areas. What can you do to focus on our area?

Idea: for O.S. on prairie lands - remove pasture grasses. Re-vegetate w/native grasses that won't require water, weed mgmt. or future expenses. Allow wildlife to return. Allow trails on outer edges of such properties for recreation & observation. From Penny Dumas jpbdumas@aol.com 303-545-9290

Too much Closed Space! People want more trails. People & wildlife can coexist. People are part of nature/ecosystem.

What measures does OS take to manage pest & noxious weed populations? How much emphasis is placed on giving priority to non-chemical or less toxic means? Leah Shafer leah.shafer@colorado.edu

Need recreation specialist on staff.

Ron: In the last 30 years I have watched (enjoyed) the growth of Open Space. I have spoken publicly in favor of taxes for open space. I think it is a wonderful treasure & example for other cities/counties. Keep up the good work! Keep asking the voters for more money (until they stop saying yes). Jack Gathright. Pass this to others in BCPOS. P.S. However! I think it is a dirty trick, after getting the money/land, to lock me out. JG

Televise hearings

Are there regulations on the use of pesticides & other toxic chemicals on County open space yet? Lindaanimalart@aol.com

The answer to the question on use of property tax for open space acquisition is: "not all people who use open space are property owners but all users pay sales taxes so the taxes on sales tax is properly placed. JR

Get mixed groups to "adopt" an area of open space to understand issues in a small area, maintain, etc?

Have larger spaces for individual groups -- so impacts are spread over a larger area & therefore less intense on any single area.

Televise meetings

Wildfire mitigation Ask not what Open Space can do for you. Ask what you can do for open space. Those who use need to volunteer (help with education) (wildfire mitigation) (pick up trash) put back energy into the land

More roads & trails give better access to control wildfires

Excellent comments, important issues. lindaanimalart@aol.com

It is unfortunate you feel the need to implicate horses in your and out. The point here is to be allies.

I never mentioned horses today. I don't know why this comment was made. We want to share trails with equestrians. -G.S.

Bikes. It has been my experience that mountain bikers are extremely arrogant. As they ride on bikes (generally worth more than my car) they routinely disregard road/traffic rules. In my community, there is a commercial mountain bike riding company which drives its riders up to 60 times a day up through Gold Hill to get to the top of "open space" for them to ride down. This is a huge use of gas, interruption to our community & use of open space for commercial benefit. I believe these commercial bike groups should return profits to the county to help w/management plans.

Recreationists need better representation on boards & commissions - how can we get there?

Why no environmentalists on panel? <lindaanimalart@aol.com>

Televise meetings

Less criticism of county's acquisition of open space -- more support & volunteerism in arena of O.S.

Standardize Colorado Open Space usage 1. Wildlife 2. Natural preserve 3. Forestry 4. Human use last

Great opportunity for dialogue! Thanks for the good work -- hope the gov't will listen.

Why were there no environmental or wildlife advocacy groups on the panel?

Millions of people - including visitors - use OS. Should there be user fees with time limits (several)? 30 min -free;1-3 hr-- $; 4-6hr --$$

GOCO is actually a tax on the poor because the poor buy more lottery tickets.

"Education" must be linked with & accompanied by enforcement to insure implementation of rules & regulations.

The long-term problem: number of users (of any kind) per trail, per hour or whatever. As the # of users increases the demand for more trails will increase. More trails means more disturbance of the land -wildlife etc. One hiker, biker, horse is no real problem - 100 per day is - and destroys the experience for all. Will this lead to "permits" to hike -bike-ride etc as the fed. govt now requires in Fed Wilderness areas of high use. Controlling # of users is the long term will be major problem. (unless we can stabilize population!) It is important for managers to look at this problem. The # of bikers at Betasso is one reason for having separate days to different users! - to protect the quality of the experience for each user. Barbara Hays, 350 Ponca Pl. #64, Boulder, 80303

Garry-the-Facilitator was rude, rude, rude. Please don't use him in this capacity again!

We haven't heard from an ecologist or someone like Terry Tempest Williams.

A serious look at Physical, ecological, & social carrying capacity must happen soon.

Future forums should include speakers & information from environmental groups. That input was sorely lacking today, despite the effort to achieve common ground. I've spoken with people active in several such groups who knew nothing about this forum until shortly before today! They were shocked.

Televise hearings

ATVs using Nat'l or US Forest Service trails or roads should be required to have a license, registration, insurance and vehicles should be no louder than cars.

A user group that is not included is runners/joggers, who also use the trails a fair amount. Have flyers available at the upcoming Backroads Marathon in Boulder on 9/29/02.

Identify obstacles and problems to finding Common Ground

To initiate a process for each of us to contribute to finding Common Ground

Discuss and list solutions to finding our Common Ground

People not taking initiative to find out what's going on.

People should be able to do whatever they like because they paid taxes

Does the earth belong to us? Do we belong to the earth?

Assumption that open space is open to humans. Assumption that open space is for use to have value.

Assumption that open space should not be used by humans

Greed/Selfishness/Ignorance

Short-sighted, not thinking/Short term vs. long-term thinking /Long Term or Big Picture

Growth / Growth is driving force of conflict and people need to understand

Irresponsibility (fire)

Recognize people are passionate and individualized. How to satisfy everyone's needs?

Failure to listen

Present Process 1) can be intimidating to people who don't know which side they (decision- makers or themselves?) are on. 2) may promote dissension more than dialog.

People are misinformed about municipality management, policies, and regulations (differences/similarities) within Boulder County. Need for different departments to work together for common rules. Conflicting rules. Not knowing open space rules

Perception of government doesn't live up to original plans

No fully informed assessment out there or shared with public before hearing or decisions made

Lack of agreed criteria for decision making. Lack of opportunities for public to participate in decision making. Perception that there aren't avenues for public input. Lack of a good process that facilitates true consensus

Lack of knowledge of health effects (Rocky Flats)

Not enough open space to keep us happy

Sports fields vs. trails

Not dealing with the total number of users

Deal with and recognize that there are specialized groups

Special interests of Board Members--dogs, horses, real estate. Perception of bias on commissions

Is conservation not managed?

Too much input

Bad Science/Good Science

Difference in perception in the role of government

New acquisitions/Master Plan-detailed with goals and how parcels fit into overall

There is a Master Plan

Inconsistent goals between open space programs and responsibilities of entities. Composting on agricultural open space; public health/fiscal responsibility with respect to conveying water supplies across open space

Open space can't be used to protect from flooding-lack of consideration for human safety

Preservation vs. Recreation

There will always be conflict. Conflicting interests/activities. Conflicting values. Lack of respect of one another's convictions

Other people than Boulder residents use our land. How to educate them?

Lack of education on local wildlife (all of us)

Dog feces and horse manure

Impacts on drinking water

Lack of respect for needs of wildlife

Too much respect for livestock

Lack of temporal separation for some users

Prioritizing between conservation and recreation and distance between them.

Conservation needs more attention and focus of conversation

Common Ground needs more attention and focus of conversation

People don't want to find common ground.

People. How can you control the passion? Starting from emotional position rather then facts

Lack of knowledge of other user groups and uses of the land

Lack of consideration of an interdependency ecosystem

Lack of agreement on prairie dog placement

(In the same breakout groups, the facilitators made note of solutions)

Incorporate more input and involve special interests earlier on in planning

Educate and Enforce Plans-more resources for

More early involvement of stakeholder. Use of public created surveys

Participation by diverse stakeholders (and reaching the unaffiliated). Building alliances

Good science everyone can agree on

Input to management plans by a technical advisory committee from federal, state, local govt and other experts

Communication. Better communication among government and various interest groups

Communication-annual report from open space departments published by newspaper (including plans, finances and information). Regular and predictable

More forums for communication, information access to public officials

Balance between preservation vs. open it all. Education. Look at Management Plans, % available for specific uses

Planning trails for preservation and sustainability

Taking management plan's sub-issues to see more clearly what the trade-offs are. Need more information about trade-offs and options

Better information on why there are restrictions

Designate use by what its best use is-land comes first

Willingness to compromise

Concentrate discussion on what we already cooperate on rather than focusing on extremists

Close some trails entirely, put trails on periphery to minimize impact

All decisions should be made with long-term view for sustainability of ecosystems

Solutions (* = top priorities of group)

*Incorporate more input and involve special interest groups in early stages so they don't feel disenfranchised (possibly through televised hearings.

*Figure out how to educate both people from outside and from inside Boulder County who use open space lands.

*Figure out how to enforce the plans and uses agreed to - i.e. to deal with people who either are not educated or who are not abiding by the rules and regulations

Consider a use fee to pay for enforcement.

Include people from surrounding counties in discussions like this

Jim-adaptive management necessary, sometimes use of open space might change.

June - Ann White trail so damaged by bikers it had to be closed.

Priorities for finding Common Ground (In order of priority):

How do we address the basic "selfishness" within people AND find ways to work with this tendency (address issue from a 10,000 ft level approach, as opposed to a 1000 ft approach).

Realize that 97-98% f the land will be preserved, and that a smaller percentage is threatened.

Discussed/debated various uses. Important to keep away from the dynamic where the public is seen as an interloper on public lands/open space.

Explore additional places other than mountain open space for some recreational activity to occur - provide public funds for mountain bikers/dog parks and other recreational users.

Realize that we all want to use the Open Space areas and find ways to co-exist on the trails. Realize that people generally get along and that the "extremists" are a vast minority.

See that there is more camaraderie than conflict with regard to recreational use of the trails. Balance between preserving everything and developing or using everything.

Boulder County management prescription - become educated about the carrying capacity of each open space area.

Convening a group like this on a regular basis

Compromise needed

Public processes (hearings, comment forms) - aren't enough

Getting a list of interested organizations

More information out to people

Priorities

Better Communications among government and different interest groups through media, meetings

Willingness for Compromise

Claire - agree on a few premises for open space use, everyone won't be completely satisfied - what can [we] live with some degree of inconvenience.

Bruce - using public opinion polls to represent public interest is best

Marge - even professional polling not always the best

Judy- (conflict use & preservation) some areas closed to people entirely. Some open; of ones open-- put trails on periphery. If conflict, temporal access - Tues horses, Wed dogs, Thurs coyotes.

Penny - Re-seed with native grasses no water needed, less weed management . Let the wildlife return

Marge -- Need better management to control noxious weeds.

Jim--Need grazing, pulling, chemicals herbicides, mowing and all tools available to control these weeds.

Nolan-- Need greater clarity in decision making with long-term interest of land and natural systems. Wildlife and ecosystems are highest priority. Purpose of open space is to protect the ecosystem. Ought to be clear on spelling out how to protect. Amount of use should not create long-term damage to quality of land.

Claire - Public needs to understand the scientific basis of decisions made so public buys into result.

Jim - Caribou Ranch management plan is excellent example of a plan. The plan is on the BCPOS website

Bruce - Allows some wildlife, some trails

Penny --Trails should cross water as opposed to always a long side it, precluding wildlife habitat

Nolan-- must make trail decisions based on long-term sustainability. Make sure the public understands why, if close out trails. Why must do so? Plan ahead. Difficult to change trails later once built.

Recommendation for future forums by Cities and the County - sponsors to have one seat at the table.

Identify the conflicts more to understand our Common Ground.

Role for private property owners in open space programs. Involve private interests

School presentations.

Public interest survey addressing these issues.

County, cities and entities to form a committee to exchange ideas and to work for Common Ground.

Form a committee to take the next steps. Open up discussion to a larger group of participants.

Interest groups to produce a 30 min. information video for educational purposes.

County televise meetings.

Attend the City of Boulder's meetings on visitor plan.

Include environmental groups in the discussion.

Isolate the discussion to specific areas.

Involve the public. Public forums in affected areas.

Cities and County commit to move the process forward - a follow up forum to work on solutions.

Identify all stakeholders in next forum to identify process.

Come with a vision of building bridges.

Get informed, email list.

How is everyone else going to fix it?

Conflicts with regard to acquiring and managing public lands have gone on for years with little progress toward solutions. More recently, there have been numerous efforts to mitigate conflicts by bringing together all stakeholders in settings in which common ground is sought. As this approach has been quite successful, we thought it was about time to initiate the common ground process in Boulder County.

Most importantly, this forum demonstrated that there are lots of people with diverse views who can and want to pursue common ground. Participants identified myriad problems-far too many to be adequately addressed in a single morning. However, participants also presented a promising list of solution pathways.

Better communication among decision makers and all groups of stakeholder, more education, rule uniformity and enforcement, and improved decision making processes are among the many subjects that future forums could address. The Wrap-up/Next Steps list above, compiled at the end of the forum, provides a valuable guide for future efforts.

Of the comments we received following the forum, most were favorable. Many participants related to us that they thought the forum was worthwhile and that they learned much about open space. As public land management is a very hot western topic, it is very important that citizens become more informed and involved in decision making processes.

The names of volunteers who wanted to pursue common ground efforts were taken at the close of the forum. The group began meeting in October for the purpose of setting up a group, defining a mission and generating an action plan with recommendations for future common ground efforts.

The list of Common Ground Committee members is at the end of the report.

To Promote Citizen Participation in, and Understanding and Support of, the Preservation, Management and Use of Open Space and other Public Lands in Boulder County and Surrounding Areas.

1. Invite all open space stakeholders to join us in discussions of open space matters in a civil, constructive atmosphere.
2. Encourage each stakeholder group to identify resources it can bring to the table.
3. Recommend that each Open Space department make available a clear outline/flow chart of the open space decision process with key input and decision points identified.
4. Facilitate interactive discussions between staff and stakeholders, including appointing official liaisons between boards, commissions and citizen groups.
5. Involve stakeholders in the formation and drafting of management plans and activities.
6. Act as an intergovernmental liaison in open space matters.
7. Promote collaboration between government and citizen groups in conducting additional forums on specific open space issues (e.g. prairie dogs, trails, mountain biking, weeds, etc.).
8. Explore additional ways to become an effective voice for common ground on open space issues and policies.

(letters received after the forum)

September 25, 2002

Here are some of the solutions that our family suggested. I did not feel that my son's solution was properly written down. My suggestions were made so fast in the small group that they were not noted. We were unfortunate to have a volunteer from Parks and Open Space who monopolized our discussion.

First Solution-For existing, as well as future acquisitions, there is a need to have steps in a process. Such as to determine use of open space.

Step One. Separating the discussion, according to each individual open space parcel of land.

Step Two. Making three proposals.

1. Two extremes (Full use and No use).
2. Moderate use.

Step Three. Place each parcel (existing and future individual parcels) with the three proposals on the ballot to be voted upon by the county voters.

The County needs to open up to the fact that there needs to be more land available for "parks" and "recreation". Look at how Boulder Canyon is being used and abused by those who need a place to climb, picnic, play ball, ride bikes, inner tube, etc. Perhaps future land bought should be for these purposes. If it were called a "spade", rather than open space, then those that want it would have it, and those that think no one should use it, only look at it, might be happy. I drive Boulder Canyon two times a day, and it is obvious to me that we may not need more open space, but more parks and recreation space.

I believe that there is plenty of information out there available to the people of

Boulder County. Also, I know that we can attend hearings and have input. The problem is Boulder County is not lack of either one of the above-mentioned statements. The problem is the County, itself. There is no avenue for change. As long as we do not have home rule or commissioners that are sensitive, really caring, and open to sensible solutions, all the communication in the world will not solve the problems.

Gloria Adamson, Boulder County.

P.S. I thought last Saturday was a good day. However, it might have helped if we could have had more time in the small groups. I am certain that would take more planning, etc.

Our Common Ground Forum

P.O. Box 20265

Boulder, Co. 80308

September 25, 2002

To Whom it may concern:

I am writing to voice my opinions and concerns and say that I love prairie dogs. I am FOR the saving and protection of all prairie dogs in Colorado and in other states. I am FOR the saving and preservation of land for the sake of the wildlife and their habitat. I am against sprawl, clear cutting, over commercialization, deforestation, over logging, polluters, over building, and greedy developers.

We should all try hard to save and protect God's creatures and the environment. Time is of the essence. The destruction of beautiful land and the abuse and killing of animals should NOT be tolerated in Colorado and elsewhere.

Your help is greatly needed. I will continue to send emails and letters on this issue and others pertaining to animals and the environment. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter on this very important issue. Developers and land owners should NOT be allowed to hunt, trap, snare, shoot, poison, gas, drown, or hurt or kill prairie dogs and other animals in anyway. Period. More open spaces, and forested areas, have to be saved. I am one of those who believe that there should be NO additional recreational use of open space lands. There has to be land JUST for the wildlife also. Recreation (no ATVs please these recreational vehicles cause too much noise, erosion, and pollution) is okay, but VERY limited. The goal should be MORE open space land for wildlife and wildlife habitat ONLY. There has to be some natural land with no access to people. It is better for the environment and the animals. The developers have to be kept away. They have done enough damage to Colorado and other states like my home state of Texas and especially to my hometown of Houston. It is sad. I hope this letter reaches you in time. Please forward this letter soon to the appropriate people.

Thank you

A Colorado vacationer and native Houstonian,

Lisa Marshall (age 32)

15023 Rain Shadow Court

HOUSTON, Texas 77070

My email: mtalk@houston.rr.com

Home # 281-376-0155

Regarding Boulder City/County Open Space lands, I would like to express my interest in opening more land up for the relocation and permanent habitat of prairie dogs.

As you may know, the prairie dog is a threatened species and as a community that cares about native wildlife, I strongly encourage more public lands be used as habitat for these animals.

Most Sincerely,

Laurie Thayer

5575 Olde Stage Road

Boulder, CO 80302-3405

Jan Buhrmann