As we enjoy our open spaces today, we might forget that they weren’t always protected. While we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Boulder County’s open space program, let’s recognize all the hard work that got us here.
Recognizing The Past
Any comprehensive history of land in Boulder County is incomplete without recognizing the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and other Indigenous communities who lived and continue to live here today. Nearly 50 nations and tribes have ancestral ties to land in Boulder County and the greater Colorado area. Boulder County acknowledges the legacy of colonization, removal, and harm to Indigenous communities that led to the creation of these agencies. Acknowledging this painful history is one step Boulder County is taking toward meaningful healing, as we learn from the past and try repair the harm of our legacy.
Early Efforts
Boulder County residents and leaders were thinking about land conservation as long as 66 years ago. Some of the earliest county efforts were led by civic-minded people who foresaw the trends of increasing population and urban development leading to loss of rural landscapes, scenic views, and wildlife habitat. In the early 1960s, the county’s Regional Planning Commission laid the groundwork with goals for parks, recreation, and open space, and established the institutional framework to accomplish these goals.
In 1967, City of Boulder voters became the first in the nation to pass a tax to preserve a greenbelt. That same year, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) appointed the first members of the Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC).
The following year, 1968, was a big year for the county: In June, POSAC recommended the establishment of a Parks & Open Space District. In July, the Long Range Planning Commission adopted Basic Goals & Objectives for Parks & Open Space. In September, the BOCC requested the planning commission to draw up a plan for the formation of a County Parks & Recreation District (this concept eventually evolved to become Boulder County Parks & Open Space). In December, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) presented the Regional Open Space Plan for the 12-county Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Boulder County.
The notion of local funding to protect open space was catching on. In 1972, Jefferson County voters passed a sales tax to protect lands in their county, thanks to the efforts of the Jeffco League of Women Voters and PLAN Jeffco. This gave Jefferson County the distinction of the first county in the nation to pass an open space tax.
Here in Boulder County, the first open space planner was hired in 1972 to prepare an open space plan and the BOCC adopted an open space policy statement. The open space acquisition fund was established in 1973 with a private donation. Also in 1973, the county leased the 130-acre Bald Mountain holding from the Colorado State Land Board, and the Bald Mountain Scenic Area became the first county open space property to open to the public. After 49 years of leasing, the county purchased the Bald Mountain parcel from the State Land Board in 2022.
POSAC members worked hard to gather community input on the open space plan through surveys (30,000 were distributed through public schools!) and neighborhood meetings. In 1974, the BOCC adopted POSAC’s proposal to reorganize the open space program.
Country Cousin
Boulder County Parks & Open Space (BCPOS) became a reality on Jan. 1, 1975. With no dedicated funding source compared to the City of Boulder, Boulder County’s program was akin to a poor country cousin, scraping together funding from a variety of sources: federal grants, donations, and the county’s general fund. Some land came to the department through land use regulatory actions such as subdivision dedications for parks. Open space staff learned to be very creative with the use of rolling options to stretch land acquisition dollars and spread out a purchase over a period of years. This process was used for two iconic land purchases in 1977: the county’s first large open space acquisition — 725 acres of Betasso Preserve for $925/acre — paid in annual installments from 1977 to 1986; and the first 268 acres of the 2,566-acre Walker Ranch for about $1,000/acre. The final Walker Ranch purchase was completed in 1984.
Third Time A Charm?
Boulder County’s first and second attempts at an open space sales tax failed in 1978 and 1989. However, as population growth fueled development, people were becoming alarmed by the changing landscape in the county. While the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service manage a majority of the western portion of Boulder County, on the plains, farmland was disappearing, and towns were expanding and growing together. Former Gov. Dick Lamm famously predicted that Colorado’s Front Range from Fort Collins to Pueblo would become one solid urban corridor. In the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed that every local election was dominated by debates about the role of local government in land conservation.
Meanwhile, the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 1978, set forth a vision to channel development to urban areas, protect agricultural lands, and prioritize environmental and natural resources in land use decisions.
Thanks to the work of POSAC and early visionary leaders who worked hard to show the benefits of an open space plan, the third time was indeed “the charm,” and the county’s open space sales and use tax was approved by voters in 1993: 0.25% for 15 years, 1994 to 2009.
County voters have approved extending or increasing the sales tax a total of eight times since that first tax in 1993, enabling the county to increase its conserved lands from about 3,500 acres in 1993 to more than 107,000 acres in 2025. The current county open space sales and use tax is 0.475%. And today, most of Boulder County’s communities have their own open space taxes, including Boulder (0.15%), Lafayette (0.5%), Longmont (0.2%), Louisville (0.375%), and Superior (0.3%). Boulder County works collaboratively with all communities in the county to prioritize open space acquisitions and trails.
County Open Space Today
Today, the county’s open space program is so much more than land acquisitions, though that remains an important part of our work. Open space is one of the county’s important tools for keeping cities from bleeding together, maintaining intact and productive farms and ranches, and protecting biodiversity.
Our staff, partners, and volunteers contribute in countless ways:
- Conserve our amazing biodiversity and habitat.
- Protect against wildfires and invasive plant species.
- Protect native wildlife.
- Reclaim overgrazed grasslands, degraded stream corridors, and abandoned mines.
- Enhance soils, protect water rights, and protect farms and ranches.
- Provide world-class outdoor recreation.
What about you? Are you an avid hiker, biker, or horseback rider? Perhaps you enjoy fishing, picnicking, attending guided nature hikes or cultural history programs, or visiting one of our three museums. Perhaps you enjoy visiting the farmers market and county fair at the fairgrounds. Maybe you take advantage of the many experts at the Boulder County Extension office, such as master gardner or master wildlife resources. You might savor views of our preserved agricultural lands and scenic mountain vistas. And you might appreciate that local wildlife has a place to call home. Whatever the case, we can thank those early civic-minded residents and leaders for their vision and persistence!
For more information visit the 50th anniversary celebration and BCPOS’ history.
Evolution of County Open Space Department
- 1959: People’s League for Action Now (today known as PLAN Boulder County) formed to advocate for land preservation. PLAN Boulder County successfully campaigned to pass the City of Boulder’s “Blue Line” charter amendment, to prevent providing services in the foothills above Boulder.
- 1960: The Regional Planning Commission hired consultant Trafton Bean & Assoc. to prepare the report “Preserving Open Space.” Boulder County’s population was just over 74,000.
- 1962: The Regional Planning Commission appointed the Regional Park Advisory Committee, and the commission hired Trafton Bean & Assoc. to prepare “Parks, Recreation, and Open Space” with two parts: “Part I: Need” and “Part II: Standards.”
- 1963: The commission issued “Part III: Organization of Parks, Recreation, and Open Space.” The Parks Advisory Subcommittee submitted recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for a cooperative board recreational administration, a Standing Citizens Committee, and a county parks coordinator.
- 1964: Boulder County hired its first parks coordinator, whose position was in the Land Use department.
- 1967: The BOCC appointed the first Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) members.
- 1972: A parks planner was hired; additional POSAC members were appointed to increase countywide geographic representation.
- 1973: The BOCC adopted a policy statement on parks and open space and established the Boulder County Parks & Open Space Fund, with a private donation from Ruth and Ken Wright. POSAC begins a series of neighborhood meetings to obtain input on the open space plan.
- 1974: POSAC analyzed survey and workshop results; the BOCC approved a proposal to create an open space department.
- 1975: The Boulder County Parks & Open Space department was created Jan. 1, 1975.