Colorado Open Lands
Denver-Metro Area :
Preserving Urban Natural Areas, Historic Ranches, and Public Parks
Thanks to city and county-initiated funding sources, committed landowners, and great foresight, a remarkable amount of land has been preserved in this area, in part because of Colorado Open Lands’ decades of hard work in the six-county area of Metro Denver. These counties are Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson.
Significance
Denver, the capital of Colorado, was established by a party of prospectors on November 22, 1858, after a gold discovery at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. Barely five months later, cities had sprung up on both sides of the South Platte.
Other gold discoveries sparked a mass migration of some 100,000 in 1859-60, leading the federal government to establish the Colorado Territory in 1861. Between 1870, when the first railroads arrived and 1890, Denver grew from 4,759 to 106,713 people. In a single generation, it became the second most populous city in the West, second only to San Francisco.
Although founded as the main supply town for Rocky Mountain mining camps, Denver also emerged as a hub for high plains agriculture. In addition, regional or national headquarters of many oil and gas firms in the Mile High City fueled much of Denver’s post-World War II growth and an eruption of 40- and 50-story high-rise buildings downtown during the 1970s.
By the year 2000, the metro area had reached a population of 2.1 million, three-fourths of whom live in the suburban counties. With more than 300 days of sunshine a year and a mild winter climate, the Denver metro area is an ideal place to live in Colorado.
City planners over the years have also realized that open space is an integral part of what makes a community livable and appealing. As well, open space is integral to defining where urbanization should not occur, creating buffers for free-standing communities and protecting air and water quality.
As a result, all of the counties in this area have adopted open space funding measures of some kind and have substantial park and open space areas on which the public can recreate. Some of the more significant characteristics of Denver and the metro area that highlight its accomplishments, as well as future challenges, are:
- One of the highest per-capita motor vehicle ownership rates in the country—with an average of one licensed vehicle for every man, woman, and child;
- The nation's largest city park system, with 205 parks within the city limits and 20,000 acres in the nearby mountains;
- Approximately 2,350 miles of rivers and streams, and approximately 56,430 acres of lakes and reservoirs;
- A remarkable range of ecosystem types, from prairie grasslands to the east, and mixed forest and shrublands to the west in the higher elevations; and
- Approximately 17,000 inventoried archeological and historical sites.
- Denver is 20th in the U.S. in population, but has the 10th largest downtown in terms of office space and retail space.
Threats and Impacts
Between 1990 and 2000, this six-county area grew an average of 49.8%, with Denver County growing the “slowest” at 18.6% and Douglas County growing the fastest in the nation, at 191%. Denver continues to grow at a rapid rate through 2002 as more and more people discover this diamond in the Plains.
Recent estimates project that in 20 years, an additional two million residents will occupy this area and the Front Range, a growth rate of 65% (CWCB, 2004). This undoubtedly puts a significant strain on the area’s natural resources, most notably water supplies. It is also driving up land values, making it increasingly expensive for local and county governments to preserve additional open space, and agricultural landowners to stay in business.
Consequently, significant changes are occurring, including:
- Loss of wildlife habitat,
- Fragmentation of open spaces,
- Conversion of agricultural lands to other uses, and
- Changing the character of the area.
What Colorado Open Lands is Doing
Colorado Open Lands strives to partner with local governments whenever possible to preserve high-impact scenic areas such as ridgelines, natural areas in private ownership that buffer public open space, and lands that could have been developed but are now in public ownership and open for public access.
As a result of the combined or complementary conservation efforts of Colorado Open Lands, local landowners, city and county governments, other local land trusts, businesses, and the State, we are:
- Working with private landowners to preserve critical open, scenic, and agricultural lands,
- Protecting stream corridors and important riparian habitat, and
- Preserving ecologically, recreationally, and historically important lands in this rapidly growing area.
Partners
Past and present partners in the Denver-Metro area include:
- Numerous motivated landowners
- City and County of Denver
- City of Lakewood
- City of Littleton
- Adams County
- Boulder County
- Jefferson County
- State Parks
- Great Outdoors Colorado
- Plains Conservation Center
- The Conservation Fund
- Town of Castle Rock
- Trust for Public Land
How You Can Help
Your support is critical to our ongoing success in helping willing Colorado landowners preserve and protect the great natural, cultural, and working landscapes of Colorado. You can help support this project and Colorado Open Lands’ ongoing efforts by:
- Making an online donation
- Sending your donation to:
- Colorado Open Lands
274 Union Boulevard, Suite 320
Lakewood, CO 80228
303.988.2373
- Colorado Open Lands
- Funding or donating items listed on our Wish List! To accomplish our mission of land preservation, it is necessary to have the right tools. By donating either the item or the money necessary to purchase any of the items, you help ensure our ongoing effectiveness and efficiency.
- Consider putting a conservation easement on your land.
Project Descriptions
Protecting open space in a quickly growing urban area is always a challenge. To date, we have protected 10,326 acres through 27 projects in Denver and the surrounding five counties.
Click here to view completed projects list.
Ninety-nine percent of our revenue goes directly to our land conservation programs.