Longmont’s Natural Resources Department is still seeking comments from residents regarding its update of the city’s Open Space Master Plan until Monday, April 1st. Please consider making your voice heard by responding to the survey. It only takes a couple of minutes. You can find the survey here .
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Pictures for Earth Day
Hi all, Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek will be tabling at Longmont’s Earth Day celebration on April 21st from 10am to 3pm at the Longmont Museum! We’re looking to highlight some of YOUR pictures of Longmont’s natural areas and open spaces, especially along the St. Vrain Creek riparian corridor.
If you’d like to have your pictures displayed at our booth, please email them to us at standwithstvraincreek@gmail.com and provide how you’d like to be credited and where the photo was taken.
Admission to the Earth Day celebration is FREE, family-friendly, and there will be food vendors, arts and crafts, and live music. For more information, check out http://www.srlongmont.org/earth-day.html.
Take the Survey for the Longmont Open Space Master Plan
The Longmont Natural Resources department has posted an online survey for citizens to provide their input regarding the Open Space Master Plan. You can find the survey here .
A second community workshop for the master plan update is scheduled for Thursday, March 22, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Sunset Campus, 7 South Sunset Street. You can find more details here .
See you there!
Open Space Master Plan – 1st Workshop Notes
If you were unable to attend the first workshop on February 22 for the Longmont Open Space Master Plan update, you can find the notes for that meeting here at this link.
The next workshop will take place on Thursday, March 22, 2018, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the city’s Sunset Campus, 7 South Sunset Street. The theme of the workshop will be “Examining Options.”
Open Space Master Plan Comments
For those who weren’t able to attend the Open Space Master Plan Community Workshop last week, the city has posted the comments it received during the workshop on its website. There were a lot of good ideas brought up and Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek looks forward to seeing the eventual outcome.
On March 22, the city will be holding a second workshop at 6pm at the Sunset Campus (7 South Sunset Street). Check out the events section for more details or go to the city’s website.
Open Space Master Plan Community Workshop
Longmont’s Department of Public Works & Natural Resources is in the process of updating the City’s Open Space Master Plan. The intent of this comprehensive plan is to evaluate Longmont’s open space needs to proactively plan for the future. To that end, the city is holding an interactive community workshop on February 22, 2018 from 7-9pm at the Natural Resources building located at 7 South Sunset Street Longmont, CO 80501.
The original plan is 16 years old (2002) and a lot has changed since then. Let your voice be heard as the city revises its plan for Longmont’s Open Space!
- The meeting will consist of a presentation and interactive work stations. Participants will be asked a variety of questions to evaluate the open space accomplishments over the past 15 years and to assess the needs of the community that should be addressed in this updated comprehensive plan.
- Dinnertime snacks will be provided during a welcome period from 6:30 – 7pm just before the meeting.
- Participants should plan to attend for the full time.
- Youth participation is encouraged.
- Spanish translators will be available.
Development along St. Vrain Creek contentious point at Longmont City Council candidate forum – Longmont Times-Call
A more open attitude toward development along the St. Vrain Creek corridor once the Resilient St. Vrain flood restoration project is completed further separated Longmont Ward 1 City Council candidates Josh Goldberg and Tim Waters at a forum Thursday night.
The conversation about the future of development along St. Vrain Creek took center stage last night at the Sustainability Forum hosted by Sustainable Resilient Longmont, Eco-Cycle, and the Longmont Observer and participated in by Longmont City Council Ward 1 candidates Tim Waters and Josh Goldberg. The third candidate for the seat vacated by Brian Bagley when he became mayor last year, Russ Lyman, did not attend. Ward 1 comprises the majority of Longmont east of Main Street.
Longmont Open Space Master Plan Update
Natural Resources Announcement:
The department of Public Works and Natural Resources is in the process of updating the City’s Open Space Master Plan. The intent of this comprehensive plan is to evaluate our community’s open space needs so we can proactively plan for the future.
The City has engaged the services of GreenPlay LLC, a nationally renowned park/open space and recreation consulting firm, to help in analysis and development of the updated plan. GreenPlay LLC drafted the initial Open Space and Trails Master Plan in 2002.
As a component of the planning process, City staff and GreenPlay are working together to conduct a community needs assessment. This will take shape in two forms, surveys and workshops.
A survey will be distributed via mail to a random selection of households across Longmont in early-mid February. This survey will be used to produce a statistically valid sample and results. If your household receives this mailed survey, your participation is greatly appreciated. A web questionnaire will also open in mid-late February for the general public until mid-March (watch for another announcement when it is live).
In addition to the surveys, two public workshops will be held on the evenings of Thursday, Feb.22 and Thursday, March 22. These meetings will consist of a presentation and interactive work stations. Participants will be asked a variety of questions to evaluate Open Space accomplishments over the past 15 years and to assess the needs of the community that should be addressed in this updated comprehensive plan.
We thank you in advance for participating in our master plan update and encourage youth participation in this process, too. As well, Spanish translators will be available at both public workshops. Your input will help guide the future of the City’s Open Space program-improving the quality of life in our community for generations to come. Find details on the public workshops more at bit.ly/openspaceplan or by calling 303-651-8416.
Link to OS workshop details here.
Link to city announcement: OS master plan update press-release-announcement
February Nature Almanac: River otters resurge in Boulder County – Boulder Daily Camera
The river otter is a Colorado state threatened species that looks to be making a comeback in Boulder County, including in St. Vrain Creek.
A sleek brown body surged through the water. A broad head turned, and curious eyes surveyed the astounded onlookers. A muskrat? A mink? No, a river-otter! After an absence of almost half a century, they are coming back.
Source: February Nature Almanac: River otters resurge in Boulder County – Boulder Daily Camera
Some birds are so stressed by noise pollution it looks like they have PTSD!
Take a look at this interesting Washington Post article about the negative impacts of noise pollution on wildlife.
“But in a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Guralnick and his colleagues say there is a clear connection between noise pollution, abnormal levels of stress hormones, and lower survival rates. This is the first time that link has been established in a population of wild animals, they argue, and it should make us all think hard about what our ruckus is doing to the Earth. “Habitat degradation is always conceived of as clear cutting, or, you know, changing the environment in a physical way. But this is an acoustic degradation of the environment,” Guralnick said. “We think it is a real conservation concern.”