North Table Mountain Ad Hoc Group
Some PLAN Jeffco board members and biker representatives met in October to discuss the potential for resolution to the concerns about the proposed North Table Mountain Management Plan. At the November OSAC meeting, this group proposed forming an Ad Hoc Committee to work on the conflict among hikers, bikers, equestrians and natural resource protection. The consensus of OSAC was that it was a good idea. The Ad Hoc Group was formed and presented their mission statement, rules and work plan at the December OSAC meeting at which time OSAC postponed consideration of the Management Plan for 9 months.
The Ad Hoc Committee’s members are:
Eric Finstick, hiker
Dave Cohen, biker
Elliot Brown, hiker
Greg Holden, Golden community (geologist)
Susan Linner, wildlife biologist
Amy Ito, Jefferson County Open Space Staff
Peter Morales, biker
Dan Shier, equestrian (volunteer for Open Space)
Sally White, plant/soil
Margot Zallen, Chair
The Mission Statement, of the Ad Hoc Committee states:
The Ad Hoc Group for North Table Mountain Open Space represents a spectrum of interest groups, potential park users and perspectives. The efforts of the Ad Hoc Group underscore the importance of and need for cooperative involvement in the formulation of vision statements and planning for Jefferson County Open Space Park management.
The mission of the Ad Hoc Group is to examine the management of North Table Mountain Open Space Park in the broad context of balancing recreational use and ecosystem protection.
Specifically, the Ad Hoc Group will first seek to educate all members with regard to the pertinent issues of natural resource and ecosystem protection and recreational use. The former will include the science and ecology of natural resource protection and ecosystem stewardship. The latter will include aspect of trail designs, location, construction and management associated with all types of recreational use. Subsequent to this educational phase the Ad Hoc Group will examine, analyze and discuss a variety of management approaches towards formulating consensus recommendations on the management of North Table Mountain Open Space Park.
The Ad Hoc Committee rules include the following:
Rules of Discussion so that everyone is allowed input.
Responsibility of Membership is to be open, flexible and consider information provided by experts. While working within the Group, members may also continue with their own advocacy efforts.
Rules for Expulsion so that one member doesn't keep the Group back.
Voting will be by majority rule until a recommendation to the OSAC and that decision should be consensus.
Rule Changes would be provided to OSAC should they be changed.
The objective of the Work Plan is to educate the Committee prior to making any recommendations. The Plan will be accomplished by:
Presentations from experts (Open Space staff and outside)
Review and group discussion of written material
Field trips
Information that may be obtained by additional field studies
The work plan is divided into two categories: natural resources and recreation management. The plan lists items they would like to learn about in each category.
The Group has been meeting bimonthly and is first focusing on natural resources so that if there is a need for additional data it could be accomplished this coming field season. PLAN Jeffco and the Table Mountains Conservation Fund each have stated that they have $5,000 available for these studies. The first meeting after getting the go ahead from OSAC in December was with Open Space staff to discuss baseline information used to prepare the Management Plan and the acquisition history. Subsequent meetings included presentations and discussions with a natural resources planning consultant, and vegetation and avian experts. The Committee has determined that current baseline data on vegetative communities, ground nesting birds and lichens are needed and is working on a proposal to present to OSAC in March when it is due to report on the status of the Committee’s work. The Committee will be starting to develop a schedule for speakers on the recreational management issues.