~71% of the Acreage Protected by the Fort Collins Natural Areas Program Exists Outside of City Limits. How Would Hughes help?
Hughes would conserve an additional 164 acres of taxpayer-funded City Natural Areas within city limits where residents actually live, work, and play. Let’s prioritize land conservation within the City, not just outside of the City.
According to this map, ~71% of City Fort Collins Natural Areas acres exist outside of the Fort Collins city limits and generally require a car to visit. Only 29% of Natural Areas conserved acres exist within city limits near where Fort Collins residents and taxpayers live, work, and play. That means that Fort Collins residents and taxpayers without a reliable vehicle, or who do not want to drive many miles, are effectively prohibited from accessing and enjoying Fort Collins Natural Areas properties beyond city limits. Most of the properties outside city limits exist near Wyoming and Estes Park.
For years, Fort Collins residents have been asking that more land be conserved by Natural Areas within the city limits of Fort Collins for ecological preservation and low-impact recreation, and the City has indicated that Natural Areas are a priority investment for outdoor recreation (slides 8 and 9).
There is also significant opportunity cost in failing to conserve land within the city limits of Fort Collins now before it is gone, or before it is prohibitively expensive to preserve land and habitat in our City as we grow. The opportunity to acquire and conserve land within Fort Collins is fast diminishing in the face of increasing development pressures within our city. We should make wise decisions now about protecting land within city limits while we can, before it’s too late. Land within the city will never be as affordable or available as it is today.
The Fort Collins taxpayers have willingly decided to place a tax upon themselves to conserve lands as Natural Areas within our wonderful city for all to enjoy and experience freely. Residents and voters bear the brunt of sales taxes, and we would like a reasonable say in how our tax dollars are spent. We are not silent partners.
The City will likely ask voters via a referred citizen-driven initiative to extend the Natural Areas sales tax, this time in perpetuity (without expiration), a sales tax that for decades has funded the Natural Areas Program. This popular tax is highly likely to pass with flying colors as it has in the past, which suggests there will be more than sufficient funding in years to come for land acquisitions, and restoration and maintenance. Those properties of high conservation value like Hughes, that actually exists within the city limits of Fort Collins, should be a high priority for our taxpayer-funded Natural Areas program. And, Hughes is in WAY better condition than most natural areas and open spaces that have been conserved within the City.
It is not too much to ask to protect and preserve Hughes open space as a Natural Area, since the City clearly will not protect the land with low-impact use otherwise, and all sorts of special interest developers will be eyeing the land until it is protected.
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.
Let’s prioritize land conservation within the City, not just outside the City. Please sign the Hughes Natural Area petition to allow voters to have a voice on the last step in the community's vision to preserve & protect Hughes for ALL members of our community. Time is short!
1.ZONE ✅ 2.ACQUIRE ✅ 3.PROTECT‼️
Map of Fort Collins Natural Areas. Fort Collins voters have voted for a quarter-cent sales tax to fund the City Natural Areas program since 1992. https://fcgov.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/natural-areas/explore
