PUBLIC records show that the Natural Areas Department (NAD) is more than solvent, with substantial funds in the coffers. While the Parks department for years faced a concerning funding shortfalls for maintenance, operations and repairs at existing parks facilities, the Natural Areas program was solvent to the tune of $23 million as of December 2023, thanks to unexpended annual revenue that the program is able to roll over to itself every year.

Denver7's Maggy Wolanske speaks to FOHNA organizers about their citizen ballot measure (Measure 303) that would protect Hughes as a 100% City Natural Area for ALL members of the Fort Collins community, and for local wildlife.

Also discussed is City's Council's pro-development competing ballot measure that would develop and commercialize Hughes for a large-scale bike skills park, and permanent visitor center and office buildings for favored special interests (Measure 2H).

Note the wildlife that even the pro-development proponents can't ignore.

This (misleading) logo and committee name belongs to the pro-development special interests for whom ballot measure 2H was written. Measure 2H is City Council’s risky, unfunded slice-dice-and-develop plan for Hughes that will see Hughes commercialized by a vocal and aggressive recreation lobby and their cronies.

The logo above appears downright idyllic, like an advertisement for country-side living. But, Hughes will NOT look anything like that in reality if measure 2H passes. This misrepresentation of reality is meant to greenwash, gaslight, and confuse you, the Fort Collins voter, and according to recent questions and comments, their plan is working.

We’ve written about this before. And, as we’ve said all along, the City code ALLOWS for sledding and disc golf in Natural Areas at the discretion of the Natural Areas Department. Here, the Natural Areas Director says the Department would consider retaining these activities due to their popularity in the community if Hughes becomes a 100% Natural Area.

(Remember, Vote for 303 and Against 2H!)

The Hughes 100% Natural Area ballot language and Ordinance are SIMPLE and SHORT, and easy for voters to understand, as it should be. A 100% Natural Areas designation comes with multiple GUARANTEES of thoughtful planning, existing funding (no additional taxes!), protection and preservation of land and wildlife, with LOW-impact, multiple recreational activities.

In contrast, City Council’s purposely vague ballot and Ordinance language around acreage ranges and actual site development is meant to confuse and disempower voters. Unfortunately, voter confusion ultimately supports the Council’s goal to undermine the citizen petition, since the ballot is essentially double-rigged in Council’s favor.

The Rocky Mountain Raptor Center, The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and the Mountain Bike Park Lobby via Overland Mountain Bike Association have formed a coalition to work against the community's 10-year conservation effort to save Hughes for all, against our own indigenous leaders and allies. These enterprises are working against us to permanently develop and scar the Hughes land for their own organizational ambitions. What does that say about the conservation ethic and respect for community of these organizations?

Read our update about the competing ballot measures that will either 100% PROTECT Hughes, or will see Hughes DEVELOPED for a dirt bike park and a private “Campus” with restricted public access.

To protect and preserve Hughes for low impact recreational uses and conservation of land and wildlife, voters must VOTE YES for our Hughes Natural Area citizen initiative, and NO for the City Council and special interests heavy Development head fake.

What a wonderful weekend!

This past Saturday, August 23rd, members, family and friends of the Poudre Canyon Group of the Sierra Club (PCG) hosted our very own public lands champion, Congressman Joe Neguse, at Maxwell Natural Area to discuss the importance of protecting our public lands, and to inform him about the citizen-initiated ballot measure that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2021 to protect Hughes as publicly-owned land.

Thank you, Fort Collins! On November 4, 2025, after almost 10 years of relentless hard work and dedication by local residents, Fort Collins voters will finally have their voices heard on whether to designate, once-and-for-all, the publicly-owned Hughes land as an official preserved and protected City of Fort Collins Natural Area, with LOW-impact recreation, for the benefit of ALL members of our community, and for our local wildlife returning to the land.

Now, we need your support to Get Out The Vote!

There are just a few days left to collect signatures to put a protected & preserved Hughes Natural Area on the ballot for voters to decide on. Volunteers are nearing the signature goal, and they need YOUR signature.

A successful petition would simply allow voters to have a voice on the final step in the community's long-held vision to preserve & protect Hughes for ALL members of our community, and for our local wildlife that are increasingly threatened as development pressures accelerate in our City.

Audio: Listen to voters discuss why they signed, and support, the petition to Make Hughes a Natural Area for ALL, recorded over Memorial Day Weekend, by DoTell Edu Productions.

This post is in response to the interview that aired on May 13, 2025 with Natural Areas Director, Katie Donahue, in which the claim was made that Natural Area Department’s (NAD) acquisition budget is $5 million annually, and the eventual transfer of Hughes to the Natural Areas portfolio would prohibit other acquisitions for 3 years. This claim from the City employee does not pass the smell test for several reasons. Notably, the City forcing the NAD to recoup costs to the General Fund is highly unlikely once Hughes is fully paid via a favorable low-interest loan off in 10 years. Here are some more facts:

It is not too much to ask to protect and preserve Hughes as a Natural Area.

The purchase of Hughes is already funded. Hughes would add a new 164-acre parcel to the Natural Areas portfolio that is actually within the city limits, not 30 miles away. Hughes is easy to access for all members of our community, and Hughes would serve as a contiguous buffer with existing Foothills Natural Areas that would relieve pressure on Maxwell and Pineridge, two natural areas that are impacted daily with ever-increasing visitation rates.

Hughes Open Space is already funded, and in fact, it is already 1/3 paid off thanks to a $4 million down payment, shared by the City’s General Fund and the Natural Areas department. The remaining $8.5 million is in a favorable, low-interest loan that spans 10 years, just like a low-interest mortgage, per City staff's own description of the loan. Don’t believe the disingenuous rhetoric from a small, vocal group afraid to put a Hughes Natural Area to a vote.

Many local governments around the world, including here in our very own Colorado, have reclaimed and repurposed permanently closed landfills into popular bike parks and recreation hubs.

When people who want to develop Hughes for a massive bike park or visitor center/campus tell you that Hughes isn't "pristine" and shouldn't be conserved as a natural area, remind them that many of our water storage bodies along the Poudre, and our precious natural areas, were literal dumps and strip mines for gravel and sand, before being extensively RESTORED to the critical ecosystems and low-impact recreation (fishing, walking and wildlife watching) they are now.

Hello, we want to make you aware of another citizen petition that began on the heels of our own petition, so that we can hopefully get ahead of any confusion. We urge you to know the difference and not accidentally conflate these different petition efforts.

Posted by a user on NextDoor, 5/7/2025, K. Harper:
"Many local Bike Park advocates are spreading misinformation about the sledding hill and disc golf course if Hughes becomes a natural area. As you can see from the attached city code, sec. 23-193(b), both activities are allowed at the discretion of the natural areas department.

Read the City’s own “Foothills Management Plan - Update 2019” regarding the importance of reducing habitat fragmentation to create interconnectivity between patches of habitat for the conservation of our local foothills fauna and flora.

A protected City Natural Area is the most unifying, inclusive, and protective use for the Old Hughes Stadium land, a place that people of ALL abilities, ages, and backgrounds can enjoy.

Let’s finish what we started for the benefit of ALL members of the Fort Collins community and the local wildlife that are returning to the land. Let’s make Hughes a protected City Natural Area. Because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

It is crystal clear that more residents want Natural Areas/wildlife habitat and soft surface and paved trails than want another bike park in Fort Collins. And that those outdoor recreational uses are a priority investment for the City. No amount of cherry-picking of data will change that.

There has been a lot of disinformation-style messaging coming from lobbying groups trying to twist the legislative intent of the Hughes ballot measure.

So, here’s the gist of our position about Hughes and the legislative intent of the conservation-focused citizen initiative, so others can’t continue to flood public venues and social media with misinformation.