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The Mountain Parks

Boulder citizens have been concerned about protecting the foothills since the early 1900s when
Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. encouraged the City of Boulder to preserve the mountain backdrop
and major waterways. One of the first efforts to preserve the mountain backdrop from
development was the purchase of Chautauqua Park at the foot of Flagstaff Mountain through a
bond issue in 1898. In 1907, the City purchased 1,600 acres of land on Flagstaff from the federal
government, and an additional 1,200 acres was purchased in 1912 for $1.25 an acre.

A.T. Wheeler was hired in 1911 to become the first park ranger to patrol newly acquired lands.
His horseback patrol and the patrol efforts of appointed citizens were adequate to protect the parks
for many years. In 1916, Mart R. Parsons, an early stage driver in Boulder Canyon, became a park
th
ranger and conducted daily horseback patrols to Flagstaff Mountain from his home on 14 Street,
averaging 2,500 miles every summer season during the 1920s and 1930s.

The Mountain Parks Department was created because concerned citizens felt that increasing use,
along with the park system’s expanded recreational purposes, warranted more active management.
Dick Lyman, the first full-time park ranger, was hired in 1971.

Ranger Lyman established many of the programs and traditions that carry on to this day. The
Mountain Parks’ staff expanded during the 1970s and 1980s with a complement of full-time
rangers hired to patrol the Mountain Parks Department, including Anne Wichmann, who, in 1975,
became the first full-time female park ranger in the State of Colorado. Anne later became the long-
time Mountain Parks division manager and was a Front Range Rescue Dogs co-founder.

Open Space

Citizen involvement in the open space preservation effort continued, with public education as a
major focus; the Boulder City Council lent its support to the effort. A conference was sponsored by
PLAN Boulder County, a citizen’s organization seeking to promote far-sighted, innovative, and
sustainable land use and growth patterns that preserve the area’s unique character and desirability to
further educate the public. The conference, titled “Greenbelts, why and how,” included speakers
from city and county governments, Colorado Open Space Council, Bureau of Outdoor Education,
planning consultants, and other interested groups. Committees were formed, slide programs were
presented, and motorists sported bumper stickers supporting the greenbelt issue.

As a result of a 1967 municipal election, Boulder became the first city in the country to tax itself
specifically for the acquisition, management, and maintenance of open space. The measure to add
.40 of one cent to sales tax passed by a 57% majority, an overwhelming demonstration of support
in an era of citizen tax concern. Shortly after the election, the city manager and city council
appointed an open space advisory committee, and, in 1973, the city council created the Open
Space Board of Trustees to set policies and priorities for open space land acquisition and to advise
council on budgets, use, and open space land management. In 1989, 76% of voters added .30 of

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