Stewardship and Operations

Stewardship

As Arapahoe County moves forward with a purposeful and progressive open space program, it will be necessary for County government to assume a leadership position with respect to stewardship of open space resources and to work in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations to implement this program.  As new lands are acquired, the County will prepare management plans that define the type and level of management, public access objectives, infrastructure and costs necessary to provide a high level of stewardship to open space resources.

Operations

There are four major components of Arapahoe County’s owned and managed open space system:

  • Open space parks
  • Open space corridors
  • Heritage landscapes
  • Regional Trails

The County’s role is also to provide stewardship for open space parks, open space corridors, heritage landscapes and regional trails throughout these unincorporated areas.

In the populated and incorporated portions of the County, the role of the Open Space Program is to implement a shared vision for open space, parks and trails in cooperation with municipalities, park and recreation districts, as well as state, federal, non-profit and private sector partners.  The Open Space Program will balance investments across the entire County.