**The purpose of this survey is to gather input from Boulder County residents impacted by the Denver Water Gross Reservoir Expansion Project (please see the map at this link to see if your residence falls within the impacted area). Peak Facilitation Group, a neutral third-party, is conducting the survey and analyzing the results on Boulder County’s behalf. Results will be shared with Boulder County and members of the public in aggregate form.**

Boulder County is seeking community input on how a portion of the Denver Water vs. Boulder County Settlement Agreement should be spent. Part of the Agreement (Section 5.1) provides $5.1 million for the acquisition of fee properties, conservation easements, or trail corridors. Additionally, Denver Water will transfer 70 acres of land it owns adjacent to Walker Ranch Open Space to Boulder County for additional open space/conservation use.

Section 5.1 was included in the Agreement because Boulder County was concerned about the inundation of forested land and the removal of trees associated with the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project. (Note: Denver Water is required to replace the loss of previous public recreation areas—regardless of any land that Boulder County purchases—as part of its FERC permit and separate from the Agreement with Boulder County.)

Before the Boulder County Commissioners determine how to allocate the $5.1M Acquisition Fund, they are interested in feedback from Boulder County residents impacted by the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project. If you are interested in providing your preference(s) on how the money is spent, please reply to the questions below and submit your responses by noon on Monday, May 13.
POTENTIAL PROPERTY USE TYPES

Boulder County is considering four potential uses for a parcel of land acquired using the $5.1M Acquisition Fund. Understanding the community's preference for the use of the property will help inform Boulder County's strategy of what parcel/s to purchase.

Note: The Settlement Agreement allows for the $5.1 million to be spent in any location. Boulder County has fully explored whether opportunities exist to purchase land close to Gross Reservoir. Properties right around Gross Reservoir (especially to the north, east, and south) are unavailable or don’t fit the described uses because they either consist of platted subdivision lots (which are not useful or ideal for public recreation) or they are already owned by local, state, or federal public agencies. As such, Boulder County is exploring properties west of Gross Reservoir to Peak to Peak Highway (and surrounding areas) that may fit one or more of the uses described below (with the exception of the public shooting range location).

Please read the description of the use types below before filling out the survey.
  • HABITAT PROTECTION: County open space land that is closed to public use. This type of purchase is generally used to protect wildlife and/or to expand a wildlife migratory corridor, protect a nesting area, or create a buffer between human development and wild spaces.
  • UNDEVELOPED (NON-MOTORIZED) PASSIVE RECREATION: County open space land that is open to the public for passive recreation, but that has no amenities (such as trails). This type of purchase usually helps connect other publicly owned lands such as state or national forests or county or city open space properties. It can also be used as a potential future trail connector or to connect with a larger parcel of public land (e.g., the purchase of a privately held mining claim or other “inholding” surrounded by national forest land).
  • DEVELOPED (NON-MOTORIZED) PASSIVE RECREATION: County open space land that is open to the public and has amenities associated with passive recreation. An example of this type of purchase is any trailhead or open space property managed by Boulder County Parks & Open Space that has amenities like a parking lot, toilets, designated trails, signage, etc. (Note: It is unlikely that the $5.1 million would go far enough to purchase a stand-alone “park” for this type of use, but a parcel could be purchased adjacent to an existing county open space property to expand trail access or passive public recreation on that property.)
  • PARCEL FOR A PUBLIC SHOOTING RANGE: Non-open space land that could be developed for use as a public shooting range. Establishing a public shooting range would enable the USFS to prohibit Recreational Sport Shooting on national forest lands within the Boulder Ranger District (BRD map), including the federal forest land and public trails around Gross Reservoir. (Note: Boulder County is looking throughout the Boulder Ranger District to acquire land for the shooting range. We are not proposing that a parcel be acquired for this purpose near Gross Reservoir.)
Acquisition of land for the purposes above may take several years to complete because: 1) properties that meet any of the qualifications above may not be currently available for sale, and 2) finding the right fit (and a willing seller) can take time.

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* 1. Please indicate your level of support or opposition for each of the proposed uses of the land that could be acquired using the $5.1M outlined in the Agreement. Rate each use separately.

  Strongly Oppose Somewhat Oppose Neutral Somewhat Favor Strongly Favor No Opinion
Habitat Protection
Undeveloped (Non-Motorized) Passive Recreation
Developed (Non-Motorized) Passive Recreation
Parcel for Public Shooting Range (which would shut down Recreational Sport Shooting in the USFS Boulder Ranger District)

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* 2. Please rank the following potential uses in order of preference, with one being your most preferred use and four being your least preferred use.

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* 3. (Optional) Please provide any additional comments below related to Boulder County's potential use of the $5.1M Acquisition Fund. (Please limit comments to 150 words or less.)

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* 4. Please provide your address below to verify your residency in the impacted area (see below). We will only use your address to verify residency. We will not disclose anyone's address in the survey results. Gross Reservoir Impacted Community

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* 5. (Optional) Are you aware of any properties that might be available for sale that match any of the four uses described above? If so, please provide details on the property and a contact name/number so that a Boulder County staff member can follow up with you. Contact information and property details provided will only be shared with Boulder County.

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* 6. (Optional) Please provide an email address if you’re interested in receiving the results of the survey.

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