Eagle County officials are working on long-range plan for open space funds

Eagle County voters narrowly approved an open space tax in 2022, and overwhelmingly reauthorized it in 2018. But there’s never been a plan for spending the money. That’s about to change.

County open space officials have been sending out surveys and holding public meetings, seeking input to put together a long-range plan to use the $5.5 million to $7 million in annual property tax collections.

Peter Suneson, the county’s open space manager, and consultant Bill Mangle recently briefed the Eagle County Board of Commissioners on the plan’s progress.

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While the plan is still in the research and development stages, Suneson said people can expect it to lay out a long-range conservation strategy, with recommendations on management and opportunities for current and future partnerships.

What the plan won’t contain is specific recommendations on acquisitions. There also won’t be recommendations on particular trails or management changes.

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There’s been a good amount of public input, Suneson said, with more than 500 responses to a questionnaire. Many of those responses have come from the town of Eagle, which has a good amount of county-owned open space nearby.

People responding to the questionnaire have provided feedback regarding management, although some people want more bathrooms, picnic tables and other amenities, while others want more natural settings to enhance wildlife habitat.

Habitat protection is critical to most respondents, Suneson said.

Those priorities will help guide future acquisitions, Suneson said, adding that people generally want to see smaller parcels brought into the county’s 15,000-acre portfolio more quickly, rather than larger parcels that take more time — and more money.

Mangle said officials need to find a way to balance the desire to obtain those larger parcels while still landing the smaller pieces. Mangle likened the process to standing on a riverbank waiting for a big fish while watching smaller fish swim past.

But acquiring open space property is important Mangle added, because “land is not going to get cheaper.”

Developing an acquisition and management strategy means developing ideas for various parts of the county. What might work for Edwards might not be appropriate for the Roaring Fork Valley or the Colorado River Road.

For instance, current ideas include focusing more on conservation easements and land swaps for the Upper Colorado River area. Partnerships play a big part in all the county’s geographic areas.

Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry asked if the process so far has received much feedback from those who work agricultural lands.

Suneson replied there hasn’t been much feedback from those people, although, “We’ve wanted to get their voices” in the plan, calling it a “work in progress.”

“We’ve heard that we want to keep ranchers ranching,” said Marcia Gilles, the county’s open space and natural resources director.

There will be more public outreach, with a draft plan presented to the commissioners this fall. A final plan should be ready by late this year or early 2025.