County's parks and open space budget funding 34 projects in 2023

The Boulder County Parks and Open Space budget for the upcoming year includes $4.4 million from the county’s open space sales tax revenues to fund 34 projects.

On Thursday, the county commissioners approved the spending plan with some adjustments to a parking lot request. With grants and partner contributions, the projects will see over $12 million in funding next year.

The biggest spend is on ecological restoration. The county will contribute $1.3 million to eight projects, which will be matched with $3.35 million in grants and $2.15 million in partner contributions for nearly $7 million toward the projects next year.

Two of those projects aren’t too far from Longmont, and the city is a partner in one of them. Phase one of the St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership includes a $1 million state grant and $1.2 million in partner contributions to treat the land north of the St. Vrain watershed.

“The whole gist of this project is to basically put meaningful projects of scale regardless of property ownerships across these boundaries to where these fuel treatments will do the most good,” said Scott Golden, resource specialist for Boulder County.

This year’s project includes 360 acres of forest treatment and 4,000 acres of management planning on the watershed.

Partners include Longmont, Boulder County, the Left Hand Water Conservancy District and Longmont Boulder Valley Conservation Districts along with private landowners. Golden said it's one of the first projects of its kind outside the federal system to do large scale forest management.

Another project getting funds not far from Longmont is the restoration of the St. Vrain creek. These funds will go toward the years-long project currently underway to realign a 0.5 mile segment of the creek to its natural alignment.

The plan is to eventually realign the segment to its natural meander and add overflow channels to improve the floodplain and habitat quality. Next year the project is getting $150,000 from the sales tax and $150,000 from the parks and open space foundation, but the entire project is expected to cost about $3.8 million.

There is still about a $2.8 million funding gap, but the project is still several years out.

Other projects to be funded by the open space sales tax include two new trails, two agriculture infrastructure undertakings, four trail improvements, six trailhead improvements, historical building maintenance, cropland policy implementation and data support.