The Next 25 Years of Natural Areas Won’t Be Easy
Happy 25th anniversary to Fort Collins’ Natural Areas! A quarter century ago the first voter-initiated sales taxes were collected for land conservation, restoration, trails, and all the things that make our natural areas great. Five ballot measures since then have been approved to extend sales taxes until 2030 (City of Fort Collins’ Open Space Yes!) and 2045 (Larimer County Help Preserve Open Spaces). This all means that we have 49 natural areas to explore and over 100 miles of trail to enjoy locally and regionally. Natural Areas are key to Fort Collins’ quality of life, mentioned in nearly every award recognizing our city.
But the next 25 years could be paved with many challenges. With a growing population (predicted to double by 2050), and associated affordable housing concerns, city leaders will have their hands full. Because we love our natural areas, community members need to go beyond supporting sales tax measures. We can each contribute and help manage these issues.
Outdoor enthusiasts have probably tried to find a parking spot at Coyote Ridge Natural Area on a nice weather weekend. Not a chance! Forget it if you show up between about 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, Bobcat Ridge, Maxwell, and Reservoir Ridge natural areas all have the same parking problem. There are too many people that want to visit the same area at the same time. Thankfully, the City’s Natural Areas Department doesn’t plan to keep expanding parking lots to keep up. More car spaces would pave over what residents paid to conserve and restore with our sales taxes. Plus, visiting a crowded natural area is no fun. The wildlife and plants would be loved to death. The City can buy more land, but they only work with willing landowners, and there is only so much land and funding available.
The City won’t be able to conserve enough land to solve the crowding issue but community members can help. Think of it as a way to show reverence and respect for the places we paid to conserve. If you find a full parking lot, find another trail or do another activity. We all need to accept that the days of finding solitude on close-in trails are over. Don’t be grumpy about it and instead share the trail graciously; follow yielding rules, and recognize that everyone is here (on foot, bike, or horse) because they love the outdoors. Please keep your music to yourself while being aware of your surroundings by leaving one earbud out.
Beyond respecting other visitors, we can support increasing the pace of land conservation by making it a funding priority in the City’s Comprehensive Plan and budgeting process, opportunities to get involved are coming up!
The same problem that is facing trailhead parking is facing housing planners. Population growth brings affordable housing issues that play out in natural areas too. Here is how it works: there are more people that need housing than homes available which drives up prices. The lack of affordable housing pushes people into homelessness. Without anywhere else to go, understandably, people resort to camping in natural areas. This is facilitated by a local non-profit, Homeless Gear which provides tents, sleeping bags, and other materials to keep people warm at night. I love the compassion this shows but there is an unfortunate consequence. Increased illegal camping, sanitation problems, and clean-up costs all negatively impact the reasons natural areas were set aside in the first place. There are some places like Gustav Swanson Natural Area I would never recommend visiting due to consistent crime and camping issues. As community members we can recognize this problem and support affordable housing as a priority for the City. We can support social service agencies helping people experiencing homelessness with donations and volunteer time. We can champion landlords who keep rents reasonable and employers who increase wages voluntarily, and we can advocate for higher minimum wage laws.
Population growth brings inevitable challenges. We live in a spectacular place with wonderful weather, and very high quality of life. Of course people will continue to move here, and grow their families here. Beyond limiting our family size or leaving town, most of that is out of our control. What we can do is recognize that population growth will be a key challenge to the next 25 years of natural areas and help manage it.
Show your love for natural treasures by going beyond paying taxes. Start by being respectful, supporting more spending on conservation, and working toward affordable housing solutions. Each action will add up to keeping Fort Collins great.
