Advanced Search
Index: Environment / Subcategory: Use of Resources

Open Lands Program

Date posted: 12/08/2008

Chart Directory:

The Larimer County Open Lands Program was implemented in November of 1995, as a result of the Help Preserve Open Spaces Initiative. The purpose of the program is to protect, acquire, improve and maintain open space, natural areas, wildlife habitat, parks, and trails in Larimer County and its communities. The Open Lands Program collaborates with other organizations in order to accomplish its goals. Some Open Lands Program partners include:

The Open Lands Program uses revenue from a county-wide quarter-cent sales and use tax. A little over half of this revenue is redistributed to Larimer County cities and towns. The communities use the revenue to acquire land, buy conservation easements, and improve existing parks and open lands within the community. The Larimer County Open Lands Program and its partners use the remainder of the revenue to acquire and manage additional land. According to the Open Lands Annual Report 2007, the program has received more than $9.3 million in land and cash donations since 1996. See Additional Information for more on how the Help Preserve Open Spaces sales and use tax revenue is used and distributed.

The Open Lands Program acquires land by two methods:

Conservation easement: With a conservation easement, the landowner sells or donates the development rights to a property. Conservation easements granted to the Open Lands Program are always held in perpetuity.

Fee-simple: In a fee-simple acquisition, the Open Lands Program purchases the land from the owner based on the current fair market value. Occasionally, a landowner may donate a property in fee simple.

'Fee simple acquisitions are protected from most development. When selecting acquisitions and planning their use, the Open Lands Advisory Board, which includes appointed community members, one elected official, and one member from the Larimer County Planning Commission, balances the need to protect natural resources and land in its original state, with the needs of the public to experience nature and access the land. Conservation easements are written to meet the needs of the landowner and the goals of the Open Lands Program. It is the landowner's choice to allow or not allow public access. Other acquisitions may be developed solely for the purposes of non-motorized recreation. In some cases, certain portions of the property may be inaccessible to the public, or the entire property may not be open to the public. This would be the case with most conservation easements on private land and on open space properties with sensitive plant and wildlife habitat or significant cultural resources.

What this chart shows: Open Lands Acreage by Type of Acquisition

Open Lands Acreage by Type of Acquisition

Data Source: Larimer County Open Lands Program

See data table

What these data tell us:

The total acreage in the Larimer County Open Lands Program increased by 156% from 2003 to 2007. In terms of square miles, the total acreage increased from 25.6 square miles in 2003 to 65.5 square miles in 2007 (640 acres = 1 square mile).

The number of conservation easement acres increased by 86% (from 12.9 square miles to 23.9 square miles) during this same time, while the number of fee-simple acres increased by 222% (from 12.8 square miles to 41.1 square miles). The larger increase in fee-simple acres represents a greater stability in Open Lands acquisitions, as fee-simple acquisitions will remain a part of the Open Lands Program unless the County sells the land.

What this chart shows: Open Lands Acreage by Public Access

Open Lands Acreage by Public Acces

Data Source: Larimer County Open Lands Program

See data table

What these data tell us:

The number of acres open to the public increased by 61% from 2003 to 2007. In terms of square miles, the number of public access acres increased from 6.9 square miles in 2003 to 11.2 square miles in 2007 (640 acres = 1 square mile). The number of acres designated as 'planned future public access' increased by 115% during this same time (from 14.8 square miles to 31.8 square miles), while the number of acres without public access increased 476% (from 4.1 square miles to 23.3 square miles). In 2005, the Open Lands Program split the 'future public access' category into two smaller categories, 'planned future public access' and 'potential future public access'. This split was intended to more accurately show the plans for public access to Open Lands acreage.

What this chart shows: Open Lands Dollars by County, Cities and Towns

Open Lands Dollars by County, Cities and Towns

Data Source: Larimer County Open Lands Program

See data table

What these data tell us:

 The total amount of revenue in the Open Lands Program increased by $1,371,226 (16%) from 2003 to 2007. The Open Lands Program successfully leveraged its revenues with grants from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), and other partnerships, allowing a 156% increase in total acreage purchased with only a 16% increase in revenues.

The amount of revenue allocated to the Larimer County fund and to all the cities and towns increased during this time. See Additional Information for more on how Open Lands revenue is used and distributed.

What this chart shows: Distribution of Open Lands Tax Dollars

Distribution of Open Lands Tax Dollars

Data Source: Larimer County Open Lands Program

See data table

What these data tell us:

 In 2007, Larimer County cities and towns received 58% of the total Help Preserve Open Spaces sales and use tax revenue. The communities used the money to purchase conservation easements, develop trails, and improve park facilities. The Larimer County Open Lands Program received 42% of the total tax revenue in 2007. This money was allocated partly for acquiring land or conservation easements, and partly for future management of open lands. See Additional Information for more on how the tax revenue is used and distributed. For details on each community's recent activities, see page 10 of the Open Lands Program's 2007 Annual Report.

Additional Information:

According to the Larimer County Open Lands Master Plan, the shares divided between the municipalities and the County fluctuates from year to year. At least 55% of the collected revenues are distributed to the municipalities and no less than 35% is allocated to the County. The proportion that each community receives is recalculated annually based on population size or the amount of sales tax collected by the community, whichever calculation affords the community the larger amount of revenue.

After municipal funds have been allocated, the remaining fund balance (not less than 35%) is distributed to the County as follows:

On Compass -

Outside Compass -

Industry Standards or Targets:

N/A

Data Tables:

Larimer County Open Lands Acreage by Type of Acquisition

Year

Total Acres

Fee-Simple Acres

Conservation Easement Acres

2003

16,404

8,168

8,236

2004

37,930

23,465

14,465

2005

38,463

23,596

14,867

2006

40,134

24,958

15,176

2007

41,951

26,286

15,295

See chart

Larimer County Open Lands Acreage by Public Access

Year

Public Access Acres

Future Public Access Acres

No Public Access Acres

Potential Future Public Access

2003

4,426

9,453

2,594

  

2004

9,622

20,146

8,162

  

2005

10,370

17,735

8,840

1,534

2006

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

2007

7,144

20,369

14,936

518

See chart

Larimer County Open Lands Program Dollars

Year

Total Dollars

Larimer County

Fort Collins

Loveland

Estes Park

Berthoud

Wellington

2003

$8,468,525

$3,532,580

$3,205,119

$1,314,655

$218,445

$123,913

$66,730

2004

$9,005,237

$3,750,211

$3,374,671

$1,405,098

$234,908

$126,810

$75,185

2005

$9,148,751

$3,811,306

$3,417,517

$1,432,517

$239,502

$127,480

$79,698

2006

$9,643,420

$4,033,795

$3,599,786

$1,506,477

$250,110

$136,930

$77,782

2007

$9,839,751

$4,152,187

$3,529,570

$1,554,153

$252,524

$129,513

$122,196

See chart

Distribution of Open Lands Dollars - Larimer County (2007)

Location

Larimer County

Fort Collins

Loveland

Estes Park

Berthoud

Wellington

Percentage of Revenue

42.2%

35.9%

15.8%

2.6%

1.3%

1.2%

See chart