“Hughes Stadium Tract Should Become Protected Open Space” by Author Laura Pritchett
Please see the wonderful op-ed piece penned by the award-winning author, Laura Pritchett in favor of protecting the Hughes parcel in perpetuity as a City-designated Natural Area, for the benefit of ALL members of our community.
In April of 2021, almost 70% of voters supported the citizens ballot measure to conserve Hughes as protected open space forever. Read our statement asking the Fort Collins City Council to protect Hughes in perpetuity.
On that note, we have received several messages of concern about the possibility of a large-scale mountain bike park to be proposed at Hughes open space, which a small but vocal mountain bike group has been pushing for at the level of Council, Staff and the Outreach Consultant. To be clear, PATHS organizers, supporters, and members are categorically opposed to such an extreme sporting use at Hughes that is at stark odds with the legislative intent of the conservation-focused ballot measure.
A large-scale bike park with variable terrain, a multitude of bike trails, ramps, jumps and hills would result in unacceptable ecological impacts, including vegetation loss and degradation, soil compaction and erosion, significant biodiversity loss and severe disturbance to wildlife. Additional heavy use by extreme sports activities like a bike park (similar to Valmont Bike Park in East Boulder - nowhere near the Boulder foothills by the way) would also result in further overcrowding that will devastate the already fragile and over-used landscapes near the foothills, and would further overwhelm protected open spaces and ruin low-impact recreational uses (e.g., birding, wildlife viewing, walking, star gazing) at Hughes and the nearby Maxwell and Pineridge Natural Areas.
Furthermore, and just as importantly, a bike park would NOT comport with the legislative intent of the conservation-focused ballot measure, nor would it comport with what the majority of voters expected when voting for the Hughes protected open space ballot measure. While, a bike park could make sense at a location in the City that is not already fragile and suffering from severe overuse, Hughes is most certainly not that location. We must make Hughes a protected City Natural Area for ALL members of our community, human and wildlife, to enjoy and find solace in perpetuity.
If you’d like to see Hughes conserved as PROTECTED City Natural Area in perpetuity, you can do the following:
Email City Council and ask that Hughes be protected in perpetuity as a designated City Natural Area ahead of the March 14th Council work session.
Sign up here to stay informed about the future of the Hughes open space, and our outreach efforts to ensure the will of the voters is honored and comes to fruition.
Finally, we are a citizen-supported nonprofit! Please consider donating to PATHS. Our attorneys are key to our success, and so are our outreach and education efforts. Help us defend the letter and spirit of the citizen ballot measure to conserve Hughes in perpetuity as a City-designated Natural Area, that is, protected open space. We cannot do this without YOU.
PATHS is grassroots and 100% citizen-funded. Please consider a contribution to our legal fund to help us cover ongoing legal fees in relation to the implementation of the citizens’ ballot measure, and our continued outreach effort to keep our community informed about the future of Hughes Public Open Lands. Thank you, Friends!