On April 9, the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department held the annual Land Conservation Awards ceremony. Here are highlights from the special gathering.<\/p>\n
Land Conservation Award honors individuals, families, and organizations whose contributions demonstrate notable achievements in preserving Boulder County’s agricultural lands. Rich Koopmann was recognized for his outstanding achievement in land preservation and stewardship. For over 35 years, Koopmann worked for Parks and Open Space as a water resource specialist, historic preservation specialist, planner, mentor, and persistent champion of Boulder County’s open space program. Koopmann also was instrumental in the creation of the Boulder County Nature Association and the Parks and Open Space Foundation.<\/p>\n
Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes individuals, families or organizations that make significant contributions in land protection and\/or management. Dave Hallock served an essential role in the recent update of the Environmental Resources Element (ERE) of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. This document guides the preservation or restoration of all natural resources in the county, including wildlife species, critical wildlife habitat, environmental conservation areas, and their attendant ecosystems. Hallock collaborated with county staff to update maps, lists, and criteria. He shared a vast amount of information, updates, anecdotes, and history which allowed Boulder County to rebuild the ERE as a stronger, highly-accurate, and applicable information source and as a planning document for wildlife and natural resources in the county.<\/p>\n
Heritage Award honors individuals or organizations whose contributions demonstrate notable achievements in preserving Boulder County’s heritage through substantially privately funded historic preservation projects. Lexie Spencer Armitage was recognized for her outstanding efforts to restore and preserve the Cardinal Town Site. Armitage’s vision began in 1998 when she showed her real estate client the New Cardinal town site just outside the Town of Nederland. Instead of purchasing the property, they created the New Cardinal LLC in order to restore the town site’s buildings as minimalist housing and preserve the surrounding land as open space. In 2003, Armitage moved into the Mine Assay Office without running water or heat, and began a multiple-year effort to clean up the years of debris and neglect. Without Armitage’s determination, the buildings would have collapsed and the New Cardinal town site would just be another memory in Boulder County’s mining history. Three buildings are now used as year-round residences, and thanks to the foresight and hard work, the population of New Cardinal is now at a healthy seven residents!<\/p>\n
Partnership Award recognizes alliances with businesses and organizations around the county to foster a community-based stewardship ethic for the preservation and care of open space. Level 3 Communications Legal Team has been a partner with the department for five years. Level 3 participated in at least two volunteer projects each year. While Level 3 is officially assigned to Heil Valley Ranch Open Space, they are always flexible, open and available to help where needed. After the 2013 flood, Level 3 organized employees in four flood clean-up projects. Since 2009, Level 3 has contributed over 1,000 volunteer hours.<\/p>\n
Outstanding Volunteer Awards honor individuals whose leadership and support of the Parks and Open Space volunteer programs have enhanced our community partnerships and improved public service. This year, there were two recipients. Art Roberts has been a volunteer Citizen Ranger for the past 10 years. Citizen Ranger Corps (CRC) volunteers spend their time out on the trails collecting field data and providing park visitors with information about a park’s natural and cultural history, current resource management issues, and rules and regulations. Roberts has been our top patroller for many years. He is out on the trails nearly every week. For many park visitors, Roberts may be the only Boulder County representative they meet, and his welcoming demeanor allows him to make meaningful contacts. In addition to CRC duties, Roberts helps the Agricultural Resources Division by visiting established data points to assess current resources and monitor long-term trends.<\/p>\n
DeAnna Cassidy has contributed over 18 years to the 4-H Program by providing support and leadership for club fundraisers, projects, meetings and youth activities. She recently started a new program, the Clover Bud Club. This new program provides early youth development and life skills for children five to seven years old who learn about gardening, citizenship, fitness, pollution and dinosaurs to name a few of the recent subjects. Each of the lesson plans are packaged as a kit that is available for other clubs, school groups or young youth organizations to check out. Cassidy is the president of the Boulder County 4-H Leaders Council, serves as an advisor to the 4-H staff, and is the assistant swine superintendent for the Boulder County Fair.<\/p>\n