Forty-five years ago, a small group of individuals came together with a vision: protect and preserve natural land in Jefferson County. Now, PLAN Jeffco is looking to the future — to future generations to carry on the vision.
PLAN Jeffco, a tax-funded, volunteer-based organization behind Jefferson County Open Space has preserved and maintained more than 54,000 acres, 29 open space parks and 236 miles of trails since its creation in 1972.
“Jefferson County Open Space would not be here if it weren’t for PLAN Jeffco and their brilliant way of seeing the future and understanding of what was going to happen in the Denver metro area,” said Jefferson County Open Space visitor services manager and park ranger No. 1 Mary Ann Bonnell. “They had the foresight to create a system where land is preserved, and the things we value as Coloradoans are there for people to enjoy for future generations.”
For its 45th anniversary, PLAN Jeffco is holding a celebration from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, at Lookout Mountain Nature Center and Preserve, 910 Colorow Road, Golden. The celebration includes activities for the whole family, including three 30-minute guided hikes, food trucks, ice cream and a keynote lecture about land stewardship and how to share the trail with potentially dangerous animals, like rattlesnakes, coyotes and moose.
“One of the things we’re doing to get younger people involved is having this party. Itap good for kids, and itap good for young families because we’ll have all these activities there,” said PLAN Jeffco president Margot Zallen. “Itap hard. Itap not easy to get the younger generations involved since the kids now have so many activities after school. Parents are tied up. It is hard to get the younger generations involved.”
Both Zallen and Bonnell stress the importance of land preservation, not just through PLAN Jeffco’s work, but by everyone asking themselves how they can help.
“We want everyone to join us (at the celebration) so they can learn a little bit about what we’ve done, enjoy themselves with the nature walks and the other things, and also think about how they want to contribute to the community, if they want to join us,” Zallen said.