HomeMy WebLinkAboutResponse To Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 7/18/2023 - Letter From Mayor Jeni Arndt To Land Conservation And Stewardship Board Re: Hughes Stadium Site
Mayor
City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.416.2154
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
July 13, 2023
Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
c/o Katie Donahue, Natural Areas Department Director and LCSB Liaison
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
Dear Chair Cunniff, Vice Chair Mason, and Board Members:
On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the July 12, 2023 memorandum
regarding “Hughes Stadium site” wherein you summarized the Board’s recent field trip to the
site on June 14 and your observations of the ecosystem. We also appreciate the attachment
regarding the LCSB Board Member Retreat wherein you summarized the Board’s Values and
Initiatives.
The Council acknowledges receiving your recommendation that a large portion of the former
Hughes site be conserved as a Fort Collins Natural Area and integrated into the Maxwell Natural
Area, that restoration costs not be a determining factor in conservation decisions, and that any
uses on the non-conserved portion of the parcel be low-intensity and compatible with the
adjoining Natural Area and the legislative intent of the April 2021 ballot initiative.
Thank you for the expertise and perspectives that you bring to the Board and share with City
Council.
Best Regards,
Jeni Arndt
Mayor
/sek
cc: City Council Members
Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Date: July 12, 2023
To: Mayor and Councilmembers
From: Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
Subject: Hughes Stadium site
The Land Conservation and Stewardship Board visited the Hughes Stadium site on June 14,
2023. Much of the parcel is suitable for inclusion in the City of Fort Collins Natural Area
program, especially the western portions. This parcel has high-value plants, riparian vegetation,
insects, and wildlife that play a vital role in balancing the local ecosystem. Mature trees are
present. Numerous songbirds were observed. Vocalizing Chorus frogs were present, and
appear every spring and summer in a marshy area on the western aspect of Hughes near
Maxwell Natural Area. Board members exchanged observations of numerous raptors being
observed in the area, including Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Osprey, and numerous hawk
species. Charismatic megafauna has also been observed including Bobcats, Mule Deer, Elk
and Moose. Blue Herons (a waterbird) have been observed perching along a riparian strip that
occurs running west to east on the parcel. The proximity of the Hughes Stadium site to the
Maxwell Natural Area, in addition to its naturally-improving ecological condition, inherently
facilitates integration of much of this land into the Natural Areas program.
All these factors combine to make inclusion of a large portion of the Hughes Stadium site into
the Natural Areas program a welcome addition. It should be noted that while the Board strongly
supports the conservation and stewardship values of restoration and rehabilitation, it was
agreed that there is no special urgency to complete this rehabilitation and restoration work in a
short or accelerated time frame. In fact, much restoration of any land turned over to
conservation can be accomplished simply by waiting long enough and letting nature take its
course. If cost effectiveness of restoration is determined to be a consideration for inclusion of
Hughes in the Natural Areas Program, the Board supports allowing undisturbed natural
restoration to take its due course over a long period of time with the ultimate objective of
inclusion of Hughes into the Natural Areas Program.
Regardless of how much additional land is included as a fully conserved and restored Natural
Area, the Board has concerns about the compatibility of various proposed uses for the
remainder of the parcel. Many of the proposed sports-venue-like uses, with high traffic and
intensive human-focused infrastructure, are highly likely to harm wildlife in the adjoining Maxwell
and nearby Pineridge Natural Areas. That type of intensity would also preclude implementation
of the portion of the ballot measure that enables a wildlife rehabilitation center on the parcel.
The ecological integrity of the sensitive Foothills to Plains ecotone and its vulnerable insects,
7/12/2023 Page 2
birds, amphibians, reptiles, and small and large mammals are likely to be negatively impacted
with high-intensity uses. The Board recommends that any uses on the non-conserved parts of
the parcel be restricted to low-intensity passive uses and wildlife rehabilitation, as intended by
the citizen-driven, conservation-focused ballot initiative of April 2021. The protection of sensitive
Natural Areas biodiversity and wildlife habitat from any potentially harmful impacts, including but
not limited to impacts associated with intense or incompatible recreation, is among the utmost of
the concerns and priorities of our Board members.
Lastly, but importantly, the inclusion of a large portion of the Hughes Stadium site into the
Natural Areas Portfolio is wholly congruent with the key initiatives and conservation values of
the LCSB, as developed and codified during our April 2023 Board Member retreat (see
attachment):
2023 LCSB Values and Initiatives
● To Outreach and Advocate for the Value of Natural Areas
● To Increase and Promote Land Conservation
● To Protect Existing Natural Area Assets
● To Rehabilitate and Restore Land, the Poudre River, and Other Natural Resources
● To Increase and Promote Wildlife Habitat Corridors and Connectivity
● To Promote Funding for Acquisitions and Operations & Maintenance
Therefore, the LCSB recommends:
● A large portion of the former Hughes parcel should be conserved as a Fort Collins Natural
Area, integrated into the Maxwell Natural Area.
● Restoration costs should not be a determining factor in conservation decisions regarding
the Hughes parcel.
● Any uses on the non-conserved portion of the Hughes parcel must be low-intensity and
compatible with both the character of the adjoining conserved Natural Areas as well as the
legislative intent of the April 2021 ballot initiative.
ATTACHMENT (2 pages)
Land Conservation and Stewardship Board, Retreat 4/28/2023
VALUES
ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH
Advocating for the value of natural areas
ADD ETHICS AND ETIQUETTE TO OUR MISSION AND OUTREACH
EQUITY (DEI)
Advocate/educate policy makers on impacts of possible decisions (minimize “policy
damage”, maximize “policy benefit”)
LAND CONSERVATION
Seeking permanent protection for natural areas
EXPANDING # OF ACRES OF CONSERVED LAND (LOCALLY AND REGIONALLY)
(EASEMENTS)
Land purchase
Accelerate Land Conservation as opportunities continue to disappear.
PROTECT EXISTING ASSETS
Protecting natural areas from infrastructure encroachment
Minimize human-caused damage to NA & wildlife
PRIORITIZE WILDLIFE HABITAT & LAND CONSERVATION OVER HUMAN ACCESS
& IMPACT
Holding back overdevelopment
Focus on impacts from NISP and oil & gas regulations in the near term
Maximize conserved habitat in perpetuity
RESTORATION & REHAB.
LAND REHABILITIATON & RESTORATION
Restoration
Poudre River ecological “health”
CONNECTIVITY
Habitat corridors, establishing and preserving them
Promote continuity and compatibility of adjoining uses to maintain habitat value
FUNDING
Establishing and expanding the regional context
IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL FUNDING MECHANISMS SO WE ARE COMPETITIVE IN
OFFERS & FORT AQUISTION, O&M
Look for and/or advocated for a permanent funding source for NAs
1
2
ATTACHMENT