The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2019 C E L E B R AT I N G W HAT YO U M A D E P O S S I B L E IN COLORADO AND THE SOUTHWEST
Thank you! Together with partners like you, we are improving life for millions of people in millions of wonderful ways: creating climateresilient communities, boosting health and wellness, advancing economic opportunities and learning outcomes, conserving and protecting our most precious landscapes, and reconnecting people to the lands and experiences that bind us together. From the transformation of green schoolyards in New York, Georgia, and California to the conservation of places of adventure in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico—we couldn’t do this inspiring work without you. Working together, we have built an incredible legacy. Since 1972, The Trust for Public Land has helped connect over 8 million people with nature by protecting more than 3.6 million acres and completing more than 5,400 park and conservation projects in meaningful places. These special places become a trailhead to a lifetime of experience in nature and to exploring and
protecting the parks and public lands we all own and love. In towns and cities across the country, people are exercising, playing, and connecting with nature and with each other in parks, trails, gardens, and playgrounds. And here at home in Colorado and the Southwest, people are creating art, playing soccer, and gathering together in these community spaces. You help create these moments. You amplify community voices. You ensure public access to the wildlands and open spaces that define our region. You create parks, trails, and greenspaces for people all across Colorado, the Southwest, and the country to enjoy. We are so proud of everything we have accomplished so far—but more than that, we are excited for all the brilliant work that’s yet to come, because we know this work is inspiring, it is necessary, and it is just the beginning. Thank you for your partnership!
WINSLOW MCCURDY
Nome Park Aurora, CO
Announcing Colorado's next state park LAURYN WACHS
Fisher’s Peak
Las Animas County, CO
Standing at 9,633 feet, Fisher’s Peak rises from rolling ranchland and forest to serve as the definitive backdrop for the town of Trinidad, Colorado. Until now, generations of Trinidad residents and visitors alike have been unable to access the peak and its surrounding private lands. Fortunately, in February 2019, The Trust for Public Land and The Nature Conservancy purchased the 30-square-mile property containing the peak and over 19,000 acres of pristine wildlife habitat. In September 2019, Governor Jared Polis announced a plan to transform this property into Colorado's next state park. Fisher’s Peak promises to be a regional recreation destination that will draw new visitors to Trinidad and invigorate the local economy. As a next step, we are developing a holistic master plan in partnership with the local community, the City of Trinidad, The Nature
Conservancy, Great Outdoors Colorado, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife that will balance recreation opportunities with natural resource conservation. This thoughtful process will serve as a model for other future state parks in Colorado.
“Two of my goals as governor are to provide more access to outdoor recreation and to support healthy economic growth. This new state park will do both of those and more.” Governor Jared Polis
Community-driven conservation I N V E S T I N G I N L A N D A N D W AT E R F O R T H R I V I N G C O M M U N I T I E S The Trust for Public Land works with communities to protect their most important assets – natural lands, clean water, and the outdoor amenities that sustain our quality of life and local economies. Whether creating a new state park or protecting a family ranch, we are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to great outdoor experiences in Colorado and across the Southwest.
CAÑON CIRUELA RANCH, NEW MEXICO In October 2019, we will acquire the 8,947-acre Cañon Ciruela Ranch in northeastern New Mexico. This stunning property is composed of elevated mesas, canyon walls, and rugged ridgelines, and features seasonal springs and scattered pools of water along the canyon bottoms. This property will be transferred into public ownership, increasing the Sabinoso Wilderness Area by nearly 50 percent.
ROGERS LAKE, ARIZONA The gateway to Rogers Lake, located near Flagstaff, is now protected through the purchase of a key 80-acre property in partnership with Coconino County Parks. This will ensure quality access to an extraordinary wetland area surrounded by ponderosa pine and gambel oak forests. Recreational amenities include a six-mile non-motorized trail system and a wildlife viewing platform.
We know that our ability to enjoy the outdoors should not be limited by who we are, where we come from, or how much money we earn. Access to the great outdoors is a basic human right essential to equity, health, and the well-being of our communities.
CHRIS HINKLE
Rogers Lake
Coconino County, AZ
Close-to-home nature E N S U R I N G E Q U I TA B L E A C C E S S T O PA R K S A N D O P E N S PA C E Through community building and organizing, The Trust for Public Land collaborates with local governments, nonprofit partners, neighborhoods, and school districts to restore and create parks, playgrounds, and trails.
Westwood. Local youth leaders and neighborhood artists envisioned a park that will include a half-court basketball court, a skate spot, green infrastructure elements, shade features, and mural walls. It will be open to the community in 2021.
THE WESTWOOD VIA VERDE AND P O C K E T PA R K , D E N V E R The Westwood Via Verde is a three-mile network of neighborhood green spaces, bikeways, green streets, parks, and enhanced alleys. This underserved neighborhood continues to transform, with plans to implement a wayfinding system that will include traditional signage, public art, and tactical urbanism techniques, such as painted crosswalks.
NEW ART FOR NEW FREEDOM PA R K , D E N V E R This year, we revisited this cherished park completed seven years ago to add vibrancy through a youth-led painted mural project. Through creative placemaking, we are working with local artist Robert Tully to create a culturally relevant piece of art that reflects this diverse community and provides much-needed shade for park users.
This year we completed community engagement and a master plan for a new pocket park in CITY OF DENVER
Westwood Park Denver, CO
Colorado and Southwest Region
IDAHO
OGDEN
Bonneville Shoreline Trail SALT LAKE CITY
Nat
COMPLET ED PR OJECT S Since 1972, The Trust for Public Land in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah has completed 545 projects, including protecting 671,575 acres of working farmlands, ranches, forests, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and river corridors and creating parks, actively used open spaces, trails, playgrounds, gardens, nature play areas, Fitness Zone® areas, and public art.
UTAH
Arches National Pa Capitol Reef National Park
NEVADA
Canyonlands National Park
Zion National Park/Virgin River Watershed Bryce Canyon National Park Zion National Park
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Grand Canyon National Park
Canyon de Che National Monum
CALIFORNIA Verde River Watershed ARIZONA
Petrified Forest National Park
PHOENIX
Organ Pipe Catcus National Monument
July 26, 2019. Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only. Land Ownership/Management Sources: COMaP, NCED, PADUS, BLM www.tpl.org
Sky Island Grasslands TUCSON
ME
The Trust for Public Land completed project
NEBRASKA
WYOMING
Program area National Park Service land Wilderness Other Federal, State, or private protected land
Dinosaur tional Monument
Front Range
Rocky Mountain National Park
Military land Tribal land
DENVER
Central Summits COLORADO
ark
COLORADO SPRINGS
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
KANSAS
Upper Arkansas River
San Juan Skyway
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Mesa Verde National Park
elly ment
EXICO
Upper Rio Grande Watershed
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
OKLAHOMA SANTA FE
ALBUQUERQUE El Malpais National Monument
Bernalillo County Agriculture and Open Space
NEW MEXICO
TEXAS
White Sands National Monument
LAS CRUCES
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
0
50
100 Miles
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C L O S E -T O - H O M E N AT U R E ( C O N T I N U E D )
PA N O R A M A PA R K , C O L O R A D O SPRINGS Panorama Park is currently an underutilized park with a lot of opportunity in diverse Southeast Colorado Springs. Through our participatory design process, more than 550 community members contributed more than 1,400 surveys sharing their park vision, which includes improved, universally accessible play structures; gathering spaces; a picnic shelter; green infrastructure and landscaping; and walking paths. Time and again, we have seen that the grassroots process of involving communities and providing hands-on opportunities for engagement empowers individuals, strengthens community bonds, and ensures that our parks, trails, and natural areas are cared for long into the future. Our work at Panorama Park continues as we transition from the 2019 planning process to executing the master design plan.
Construction begins in 2020 and fundraising for the park continues. When Panorama Park opens in summer 2021, residents in the Southeast community will welcome their own redesigned park within a 10-minute walk of home.
We know great parks can transform communities. Green spaces stay cooler than asphalt jungles and capture and filter millions of gallons of stormwater runoff to reduce rising urban temperatures and prevent flooding. Trees and soil absorb carbon pollution out of the air and create healthier places to live. Parks help create communities with more social connections and less violence— improving human health, happiness, and well-being.
STREAM LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING
Powerful partnerships AN INTERVIEW WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZER JOYCE SALAZAR
What is special to you about Southeast Colorado Springs? JS: Southeast Colorado Springs is special because of the people here. We understand some people think that all we in Southeast need is public assistance because we’re a community that has a large minority population…when what we are actually looking for is opportunity. This process of engagement has brought our community together, realizing in the process that we’re just like any other community—we have the same needs, wants, and interests in making sure our park offers the same amenities as other parks.
“People in this community are family-oriented, hardworking, and want a chance to make a difference.”
LORENZO DAWKINS
Joyce Salazar is an avid community organizer in Southeast Colorado Springs, working to help neighborhood residents come together to express their shared vision of healthy community and economic prosperity. She is excited to partner with The Trust for Public Land to revitalize Panorama Park in Southeast Colorado Springs—our largest park project to date.
How has leading the community engagement process for Panorama Park had an impact on you? JS: The process of engaging our community has been a professional and a personal learning experience for me. This is a community-driven park—we’ve had a public process that’s real with two public meetings, three parties in the park (one of them with 300 people!), we formed a Youth Advisory Council, and we feel sure the momentum that this park planning process has started will keep us all engaged.
If you could name one benefit that Panorama Park will bring to the residents of Southeast, what would it be? JS: The single greatest benefit that Panorama Park promises to the residents of Southeast is life. We want to change our health outcomes with this park and we can do it!
Connected community trails I M P R O V I N G T R A I L S F O R E Q U I TA B L E A C C E S S T O T H E O U T D O O R S The Trust for Public Land fosters the expansion, planning, and building of community trails. We envision and create trails that connect communities, offer healthy recreation opportunities, and link people to nature and the outdoors.
S I M O N G U L C H , U TA H Adjacent to Zion National Park, this 880-acre private property includes a mile of the iconic Zion Narrows Trail. The Trust for Public Land is working to protect this ranch and secure permanent public access to the trail.
COLORADO COMMUNITY TRAILS In April 2018, we launched our Colorado Community Trails Program (CCTP), delivering equitable access to outdoor experiences through trails. This program improves connectivity, mobility, and safety, with a focus on Front Range cities, the fastest-growing region in Colorado.
MIKE SCHIRF
Piney Creek Connector, Arapahoe County In May 2019, a $50,000 CCTP investment allowed Arapahoe County to complete a significant connection from the High Plains Trail to the Piney Creek Regional Trail, providing access to schools, residences, Cherry Creek State Park, and hundreds of miles of metro area trails. Ute Pass Trail, El Paso County An 11-mile segment of the Ring the Peak trail will be completed in December 2019, providing an important connection from Ute Pass Elementary School along Highway 24 to Manitou Springs. Fall River Trail, Larimer County CCTP is partnering with the Town of Estes Park to construct a crucial 2.5-mile trail segment to connect downtown Estes Park with the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Zion Narrows Trail
Washington County, UT
Neighborhood Loop Trails, Metro Denver In year two, an area of focus will be community connector trails, such as the Via Verde in Westwood, the Montbello FreshLo Walkable Loop, and 303 ArtWay, providing local access to parks, schools, transit, and healthy food.
Meet The Trust for Public Land’s Colorado and Southwest team TPL STAFF
(Left to right) Back row: Annette Mainland, Director of Philanthropy Peter Hambidge, Associate Director of Philanthropy Leah Kahler, Philanthropy Associate Patrick Gardner, Project Manager Emily Patterson, Parks for People Program Director Conor Hall, Director of Conservation Strategies and Policy Advocacy Peggy Chiu, National Counsel Wade Shelton, Sr. Project Manager Jim Petterson, Southwest and Colorado Director
(Left to right) Front row: Deborah Roberts, Planned Giving Manager Carrie Smizik, Institutional Giving Manager Chandi Aldena, Parks for People Program Manager Carrie Kasnicka, Project Manager SaLees Seddon, Canopy Intranet Coordinator Not pictured: Greg Hiner, Director of Land Protection – Santa Fe office Jake Houston, Colorado Community Trails Program Director Michael Patrick, Sr. Project Manager – Santa Fe office I Ling Thompson, SVP, Marketing & Communications
Colorado Advisory Board We are so grateful for our outstanding volunteer leaders! Jonathan Adelman Heidi Baskfield Dennis Carruth Steve Coffin Dana Crawford Greg Felt Beverly Griffith
Allegra “Happy” Haynes Scott Ingvoldstad, Chair Peter Kirsch, Vice Chair Mike LaMair Kim Morss Jeff Resnick* * Also serving on the National Board of Directors
NINA RIGGIO
Thank you
for supporting our land-for-people mission in Colorado, the Southwest, and beyond. We couldn’t do it without you. Photo: Fisher’s Peak, CO
Join us. The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.
tpl.org
Jim Petterson Southwest and Colorado Director 303.863.8485 | jim.petterson@tpl.org Annette Mainland Director of Philanthropy 303.867.2337 | annette.mainland@tpl.org 1410 Grant Street, Suite D210 Denver, CO 80203
COVER: TOP LEFT, CHRIS HINKLE; TOP RIGHT, BERNARD WOOTEN; MIDDLE ROW, WINSLOW MCCURDY; BOTTOM, BRADLEY TILLOTSON.