Denver and Jefferson County closed on the land in early November. (Courtesy Denver Mountain Parks)
Jefferson County and Denver recently closed on a huge swath of mountain land for residential use, although not by people.
“It provides connectivity for habitat and landscape that will connect all the way from Evergreen up to the top of Mount Blue Sky, which is pretty special,” said Shannon Dennison, director of Denver Mountain Parks, which is part of the city’s parks and recreation department.
Earlier this month, the two governments purchased 167 acres of largely untouched land along State Highway 103, which runs to the road up Mount Blue Sky, formerly Mount Evans. They bought the land for $3 million from the Tibaldo family.
The property sits just east of the Jefferson and Clear Creek County line, with protected land on both sides.
“It’s sort of as the missing puzzle piece in a series of conservation parcels owned by multiple different land holders, including Denver Mountain Parks, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service,” Dennison said.
No formal trails run through the site, although Dennison said some will likely be added. The main benefit, though, is for the animals and plants that will be protected because of the acquisition. The land is zoned for agricultural use and could be subdivided into 10-acre parcels for development of things such as barns, stables and silos, although that is not the plan.
The property owners approached Denver Mountain Parks about selling the land. But it was a heavy lift for the city to take on alone. So, it called up its neighbor.
“I don’t know if there was even a person here who hesitated,” said Matt Robbins, a Jefferson County spokesman.
It’s the first time the two governments have teamed up to make a purchase like this. But Jefferson County has made similar arrangements with other neighboring counties in the past.
In 2018, Jefferson and Boulder counties spent nearly $8 million to acquire 430 acres that crossed county lines. That deal connected 80,000 acres of public lands. A year prior, Jefferson County and Clear Creek County jointly bought 108 acres north of Interstate 70 to connect thousands of acres of open space.
The Trust for Public Land, a California-based nonprofit, helped facilitate the latter deal. It also was involved in the Denver-JeffCo transaction as well.
“Our mission is literally to create parks and protect land for people,” said Jim Petterson, vice president of the nonprofit’s Mountain West region.
The trust has protected 175,000 acres and completed about 320 projects in Colorado, from remote corners of the state to the heart of Denver. It sometimes buys land for preservation or develops parks themselves. In this case, it helped broker the deal.
“So many places I go and trail run, I had no idea were TPL projects,” Petterson said.
A map of the recently acquired land. (Public Records)
Denver and Jefferson County closed on the land in early November. (Courtesy Denver Mountain Parks)
Jefferson County and Denver recently closed on a huge swath of mountain land for residential use, although not by people.
“It provides connectivity for habitat and landscape that will connect all the way from Evergreen up to the top of Mount Blue Sky, which is pretty special,” said Shannon Dennison, director of Denver Mountain Parks, which is part of the city’s parks and recreation department.
Earlier this month, the two governments purchased 167 acres of largely untouched land along State Highway 103, which runs to the road up Mount Blue Sky, formerly Mount Evans. They bought the land for $3 million from the Tibaldo family.
The property sits just east of the Jefferson and Clear Creek County line, with protected land on both sides.
“It’s sort of as the missing puzzle piece in a series of conservation parcels owned by multiple different land holders, including Denver Mountain Parks, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service,” Dennison said.
No formal trails run through the site, although Dennison said some will likely be added. The main benefit, though, is for the animals and plants that will be protected because of the acquisition. The land is zoned for agricultural use and could be subdivided into 10-acre parcels for development of things such as barns, stables and silos, although that is not the plan.
The property owners approached Denver Mountain Parks about selling the land. But it was a heavy lift for the city to take on alone. So, it called up its neighbor.
“I don’t know if there was even a person here who hesitated,” said Matt Robbins, a Jefferson County spokesman.
It’s the first time the two governments have teamed up to make a purchase like this. But Jefferson County has made similar arrangements with other neighboring counties in the past.
In 2018, Jefferson and Boulder counties spent nearly $8 million to acquire 430 acres that crossed county lines. That deal connected 80,000 acres of public lands. A year prior, Jefferson County and Clear Creek County jointly bought 108 acres north of Interstate 70 to connect thousands of acres of open space.
The Trust for Public Land, a California-based nonprofit, helped facilitate the latter deal. It also was involved in the Denver-JeffCo transaction as well.
“Our mission is literally to create parks and protect land for people,” said Jim Petterson, vice president of the nonprofit’s Mountain West region.
The trust has protected 175,000 acres and completed about 320 projects in Colorado, from remote corners of the state to the heart of Denver. It sometimes buys land for preservation or develops parks themselves. In this case, it helped broker the deal.
“So many places I go and trail run, I had no idea were TPL projects,” Petterson said.
A map of the recently acquired land. (Public Records)
