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HomeMy WebLinkAbout780556 L U sK II I ICI ( l F HAI ;l ( ( II I Y ( ( IMMI';`JUNI IIH a PHONE. (3031 356 4000 EXT. 700 P.O. BOX 758 C. OHEFLEV, COLORADO 60631 COLORADO April 14, 1978 James P. Fitzgerald, PhD College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biological Sciences University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO 80639 Dear Dr. Fitzgerald: The Board of Weld County Commissioners received your letter of April 9, 1978, concerning your previous request for use of the Davis Ranch as an Outdoor Recreation Site. The present lease for that property will be renegotiated for the year 1979 during the month of September, 1978. We have kept your previous request on file and will reconsider it at that time; please be assured that we will contact you when the leasing process begins. Thank you for your concern in this matter. Si.nc rely, June K. Steinmark Weld County Commissioner JKS/clb cc Gretchen Cutts - Greeley Audubon Society 780556 pRoolG - The University of Northern Colorado GREELEY, COLORADO 80639 College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biological Sciences 303/351-2532 9 April 1978 Mr. Ed Dunbar, Chairman Board of Weld County Commissioners P. 0. Box ?58 Greeley; ,Colorado 80631 Dear Mr. Dunbar; This is a short letter to remind you that those of us whom submitted to you a request to consider use of the Davis Ranch property as a Outdoor Recreation Site are still interested in this proposal. It was our understanding that the lease agreement with the present lessee expired in 1978 and that when you reviewed the lease that you would again consider our proposal. I hope that the Board will keep us informed of this procedure and give us opportunity to again present our proposal at that time. Incidently, I believe that if the matter of fencing of some of the property is the only major concern on the part of the present lessee: Mr. Law, that some of us would be happy to consider what the costs of fencing would be and see if we couldn't come up with the money. Please keep in touch. Thank you. Sincerely yours, 74-:/ —4/ James P. Fitzgerald, PhD Asst. Prof. Zoology cc Gretchen Cutts - Greeley Audubon Society 1J _ hi Tr-.. ?/// A proposal to the Weld County Commissioners concerning the use of the Davis Ranch Property as an Outdoor Education Site . Sponsors : Greeley Audubon Society, Aims Community College , District 6 Schools , University of Northern Colorado. Proposal and Justification: The above sponsors would like to request to the Weld County Commissioners that the Davis Ranch property acquired by (,i<n VC L the County as a -load fill site be made available to the above Institutions or similar groups as an outdoor education facility . By Outdoor Education we mean the use of the site for nature study, ecological study , conservation or specific unit study such as birds , mammals , or aquatic biology. We believe that a need exists in the area for such a facility based on the following information. Educators at the local College and University would like to have such a facility close at hand for their classes and for graduate and undergraduate student studies . The District 6 administration points out that with the increase in gasoline prices the availability of close-to-home areas suitable for visitation increase in importance . The proximity of the Davis Ranch to Greeley would make it available for short-- term use so that a class could go there for an hour or two without spending inordinate amounts of time or money for travel . Also the fact that the site is being used by man - for grazing of livestock and in the future for mining -- allow for students to observe the impacts of man and his activities on his environment . Suggested Control of Access and Use of the Property: These suggestions pertain only to use of the site for educational activities and in no way suggest that the County close the property to other activities such as grazing or mining . I . We would propose that the property be open to the following educational uses only : a. Organized field trips led by a qualified instructor :representing one of the proposed participating institutions . ( 1 / 21 b. Graduate/undergraduate research projects approved and supervised by qualified instructors at Aims or UNC . c . Organized field trips sponsored or led by individuals representing the Greeley Audubon Society or similar educational groups whose purpose is to increase the awareness of County residents to their A d local environment . II . To regulate access to and use of the area for educational activities we suggest that : a . An individual from the participating institutions be appointed as area coordinator for the purpose of scheduling use of the site. This individual would also maintain contact withthe County and any other users of the ranch to reduce any problems . b. The coordinator would present' a report to the County Commissioners on an annual basis documenting the use of the area for educational purposes . c. In the event that the area becomes in high demand for field trips it may be necessary to appoint a panel of individuals to determine the numbers o; users on the site and a priority of use for the area. d. A particular area be designated as the access site to the Ranch and that all legitimate users of the site be -requested/required to enter at that location. e . Users be given an authorization card by the coordinator that could be placed in the windshield of their vehicles to show legitimate use . f . In the event htat use dictates the need for sanitary facilities such as portable toilets , that such facilities be installed and maintained by the participating institutions with no cost to Weld County. 2 / . •' 7 III . Liability: It is assumed that any institutional uses of the Ranch will cover personal liability to students and that such responsibility will rest with the users and not the County. r IV. Compatibility with other Uses : It is assumed that the use of the site for educational purposes can be coordinated with other uses to minimize disturbance to cattle or avoid areas in which active mining might be going on . The coordinator would assist in planning for such activities and scheduling f ^ use away from such areas . L �,.C.�,.Q J i,�, ,, !y I s /4♦ .A///. ,, ! ., / i, .1 , , . ♦ -, i , , .. e ' :. s • ,/ ; i , . /, , ^ /. c. 4i ' f I ' � � � It is our hope that the Weld County Commissioners will take positive action on this request for the benefit of educational activities in the County . Thank your for your consideration of this request: James P. Fitzgerald for: Greeley Audubon Society and the other sponsors . Dated 12 December 1977 Hello