To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces Department
Prepared By:
prepared
Roger Harvey, Planning Manager, Open Spaces Department
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presenter
Presenter: Roger Harvey, Planning Manager, Open Spaces Department
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Subject:
title
1:30 PM *Draft Bijou Basin Master Plan Update
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will present the draft Bijou Basin Open Space Master Plan to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). This will be an informational item. Staff anticipates requesting BOCC approval and adoption of the master plan in the Fall 2025.
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Background and Discussion: Bijou Basin Open Space is located along West Bijou Creek in the central eastern part of Arapahoe County, at the junction of Quincy Avenue (CR30) and Bradbury Road (CR173) approximately 5 miles south of Byers, CO. Open Spaces purchased the 2,854-acre property in 2010 and in 2025 purchased an additional 362-acres adjacent to the 2010 purchase. Bijou Basin was purchased with the intention of being maintained as a working property with active grazing and dryland farming and to integrate passive recreation opportunities for the public to enjoy. Approximately half of the property is encumbered by two conservation easements held by the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust. The property is bordered by over 12,000 acres of adjacent conserved lands including the West Bijou Conservation Easement to the east and the County's Mule Gulch Open Space property to the south.
The property features short grass prairie and wildflowers, hidden canyons, geologic features and three miles of the winding West Bijou Creek. Broad and extensive cottonwood galleries fill the bottomlands with four seasons of color, along with upland pastures which support a diversity of wildlife and native shrubs such as juniper, scrub oak and wild plum. Open Spaces envisions the development of the property to be minimal and passive, primarily to allow visitors t...
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