About three years ago I was on a trail run with my dogs. I stood on a ridge at Devil's Backbone Open Space and I took stock of how lucky I was to be standing there on such a great piece of land. Then I thought about the other great views, hikes, walks, runs and mountain bike adventures I had enjoyed on various other open space areas in the city and county where I live. I've also enjoyed open space areas in several other Colorado counties.
It was on that take-stock run that I said to myself, "If you want to be sure open space, beautiful vistas and trails remain a part of where you live - get involved."
The process began by simply paying attention to meetings and news items involving open space issues for the city and county. The more I dug into it, the more I realized how much work had been put into open space issues. People had worked for years to acquire land and preserve the land for generations to come. Some spaces do not allow public access, while other spaces create a trail system so people can recreate while minimizing impact to the land.
I wanted to become part of the process to preserve land for generations to come.
Fast forward to late last year. I applied for and was appointed to the Open Lands Advisory Commission (OLAC) for the City of Loveland. I have been on OLAC for just under a year and I have barely scratched the surface of learning about open lands issues.
Do you enjoy open space? Is there an open space program in your city? Can you get involved at some level to preserve open space? Here are some ideas:
- Trail day maintenance volunteer (pick axes, giant rakes and earth moving)
- Trail volunteer ranger or interpreter
- Donate to the cause
- Attend a meeting on open space issues
- Volunteer for an open space project
- Become involved in a citizen commission
Do you have a favorite open space photo? Share it by posting it along with a comment below.
We here at Active are lucky to have a large canyon preserve as our backyard. It's easily accessible for running, hiking and mountain biking.
But California is facing the threat of losing a lot of its public spaces as the Governor and the state reps haggle over the budget. Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger called for massive cuts to the state parks department. And the popular surfing spot at San Onofre is also being threatened by a proposed toll road.
I like your idea of getting involved, Gale. Too often, "we" (the people) think that "they" (our elected officials) have everything under control and there isn't much we can do. But you're proving that that isn't the case.
By the way, the International Mountain Biking Association does a great job of working to protect open spaces and inform its members about what's going on in their home states.