HELP WANTED!
Once again we are announcing a bunch of excellent openings for talented, dedicated BCHA volunteers. BCHA has several positions and projects that need YOU!  Newsletter Editor • Horse Services Directory Committee Member • Trail Committee Chair • Fun Show Manager • Board Member •

Is there a talented newsletter editor locked inside you just waiting to be asked? Are you a trail rider looking to give back something to the community for all the pleasure you and your horse have derived from Boulder’s trail system? Less outdoorsy but up on internet technology? How about a committee chair position? A doer but not necessarily a leader? Then how about serving on a committee? Don’t know what you might like to do but want to contribute somehow? Read on.
or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-485-2162

Lagerman/Imel area

March 2, 2010

Boulder County Parks & Open Space
Attn:  Chad Ricklefs, Planner
5201 St Vrain Road
Longmont, CO 80503

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Dear Chad and Staff:

On behalf of the Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) we would like to provide our detailed input on the Lagerman / Imel Open Space Complex Management Plan.

BCHA is supportive of BCPOS acquisitions in this area because we support the County’s mission of providing citizens with recreational opportunities, preserving agriculture, enhancing wildlife habitat, and shaping urban growth.  We believe that ALL of those priorities can be accomplished simultaneously in the Lagerman/Imel area, in a way that turns this part of the County into an attractive regional Open Space park.

Now that the county has acquired more than 1,500 acres (in part with the City of Boulder), and given the possibility of additional acquisitions in the near future, it is time to prepare a management plan that accommodates many of these priorities. (continue) click here for maps and remainder of Plan 3-2-10

West Trail Study Area
If you ever ride the swath of Open Space west of Broadway between Eldorado Springs and North Boulder, the West Trail Study Area concerns you!

The City of Boulder has just convened a new group of stakeholders to determine the fate of existing trails, future trails, and off-trail use – of this very large area. Popular trails in the block include the Mesa Trail, South Boulder Creek Trail, Shanahan Ridge, Bear Canyon, Flagstaff, Chautauqua, Mt Sanitas, Wonderland Lake, and Foothills… all the Mountain Parks Trails as well as the foothills trails. The West TSA contains the Crown Jewels of the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. You can learn more about this project by clicking on this link to the City's Open Space and Mountain Parks, West Trail Study Area

Extensive jockeying took place for a coveted seat at the West TSA table. The City hired a consultant to “facilitate” the process who, so far, has only seemed to make to process more contentious than it needed to be. For example, he would only allow five recreation stakeholders, five environmentalists, three neighborhood representatives, one cultural resources person, and two staff members, to be on the “community collaborative group.” The recreation people were prevented from representing their groups (but the environmentalists got to choose multiple people from at least one small group). In mid-September a raucous caucus selected the winners, based on who showed up at the meeting. There were dozens of mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers, and rock climbers, each of whom were deemed “big enough” to get a seat at the table. As usual, equestrians were underrepresented in the political process and therefore we didn’t get a bona fide representative.

We did, however, get the next best thing. Perhaps thanks to all the advocacy work I’ve been doing on everyone’s behalf for the last fifteen years, and perhaps because they felt bad that we were not seated, the group of over 250 recreationists appointed yours truly by acclaim to be the single alternate for all the recreation groups, and specifically to be the alternate for the “Multi-Sport Group” which consists of runners, fisher-people, equestrians and other hangers-on.

It is estimated that the West TSA process will entail over 20 hours a month for more than a year. If every volunteer on the committee puts in the same amount of time, that comes to almost 3,500 hours of time spent on determining the fate of trails west of Broadway. If staff and the alternate(s)’ time is counted, you can more than double that time, to, say, 7,000 hours. Give it a time-value-of-money of $25 an hour, throw in the consultant’s fees, and we’ve got a project “worth” around a quarter of a million bucks.

Will it be worth it? Maybe. If you care about equestrian issues, please call me, provide me with your input, give me moral support, and stay in touch.

Suzanne Webel
303-485-2162
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Colorado's New License Plate - "Support the Horse"

Seen those great "Support The Horse" license plates?  Here's how to get one for your very own vehicle!  This special license plate honors the contributions the horse industry makes to the economy and culture of the Centennial state. A portion of the $30 license plate fee supports the work of the Colorado Horse Development Authority.  The DMV orders the plate when you give them a payment certificate from the CHDA. The standard DMV one time only designer-plate fee of $50 will be charged at the time of pickup.  Plates will be renewed from the calendar date you receive the plates, but the fees will be pro-rated from your last calendar date. For additional information and/to order your certificate, visit: https://www.chda.org/purchase/index.php

Boulder County Commissioner Meetings are available online
County Commissioner Meetings are broadcast over the internet! You can view them live, or go back and watch archived recordings from the past 30 days. You can also choose to just get the audio feed, if your Internet connection isn't fast enough to keep up with the video. Go to www.co.boulder.co.us/stream/index.htm to sign on!