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Open Space & Trails Experiences
General Announcement: Open Space Ballot MeasureOn Monday, August 22, Town Board referred a 0.25% open space sales tax increase to the November 2022 ballot which would take local sales tax from 3.95% to 4.20%. The tax revenue will provide a dedicated source of funding to purchase open space lands. To learn more, visit the Town of Windsor's Open Space Ballot Measure webpage. |
Open Space Experiences
The following open space experiences explain the purposes and benefits of various types of open space, as well as their different values, management and user experiences. Multiple experiences can be achieved in Windsor's Open Spaces.
Adventure-based recreation landscapes and enhanced facilities that demonstrate natural resources and environmentally sensitive values
Examples: Eastman Park River Experience, Oxbow Disc Golf Course
Conservation Tools: Free simple, development dedication
Purpose: Nature-based play
Values: Recreation access, interpretation, ecological and ecosystem processes, wildlife habitat, water quality
Size: Variable, appropriate to accommodate use and conserve resource
Social: Nature-based recreation including groups
Public Access: High, people first
Primary Uses: Recreation, environmental education
Potential Facilities: Parking, trails and trailheads, nature play, restroom, environmental education, interpretive areas, picnic sites, visitor support facilities, wayfinding signage
Maintenance: Moderate, focus on recreation facilities
Restoration: Moderate
Open corridors associated with trail easements or rights-of-way that connect regional and local park, open space and trail facilities.
Examples: Poudre River Trail
Conservation Tools: Development dedication, fee simple, trail partnerships
Purpose: Connectivity, linear recreation
Values: Recreational corridors, mental and physical health, visual open, habitat movement
Size: Corridor width of 100 feet or wider
Social: High volume community connections to neighborhoods and destinations
Public access: People first, connecting
Primary Uses: Trail corridor, interpretation
Potential Facilities: Ditch corridor, paved and soft-surface trails, signage
Maintenance: Moderate, native plant no-mow areas
Restoration: Moderate
Small, wild areas including portions of existing urban parks and neighborhoods that offer nature observation, respite, micro-habitats and/or visual access.
Examples: Detention area at Highlands Park
Conservation Tools: Development dedication
Purpose: Water quality, wildlife habitat
Values: Water quality, stormwater management, wildlife habitat, visual open space
Size: Relatively small or integrated into larger developed park
Social: Respite, environmental education
Public Access: Balanced, Visual
Primary Uses: Visual open space
Potential Facilities: Soft surface trails, interpretation signage
Maintenance: Low, native plant no-mow areas. Higher maintenance is needed during establishment
Restoration: High
Protected areas with limited to no public access and significant and sensitive ecological, biological and ecosystem values.
Examples: Frank Conservation Easement
Conservation Tools: Conservation easements, fee simple
Purpose: Resource protection
Values: Ecological and ecosystem processes, wildlife habitat, water quality, visual open space, riparian protection
Size: Large
Social: Solitude
Public Access: None to limited, resource first
Primary Uses: Conservation, habitat, limited passive recreation
Potential Facilities: If any, facilities concentrated at trailheads. Trails tread is native materials, wayfinding and interpretive signage
Maintenance: Moderate
Restoration: High
Lands used for irrigated crop production that serve as visual and community buffer areas and traditional uses such as hunting.
Examples: River Bluffs Open Space
Conservation Tools: Land trusts, conservation easements, county and water partnerships, water
Purpose: Agricultural heritage, community separation
Values: Agriculture, hunting and fishing, cultural heritage, scenic quality, community separator, economic resiliency, food supply
Size: Variable, typically large
Social: Traditional uses
Public Access: None to low, visual
Primary Uses: Irrigated crop, rangeland community agriculture, habitat, private ownership
Potential Facilities: If any, interpretive signage
Maintenance: As required for agricultural uses
Restoration: Varies