Preserving Hughes: A Natural Jewel or Future Bike Park?

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by Tom Farnsworth  | Fort Collins Resident

Good day – This is a response to some fanciful information recently provided by Jared Ross, as well as some additional thoughts I have.  This relates to what has been called ‘The Hughes Property’, 160 acres along the foothills where CSU’s Hughes Stadium used to be.

First, unlike Mr Ross’s claim, the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce totally opposed the actions and position of PATHS, the group most influential in the organization and success of the ballot initiative that over 67% of voters approved in purchasing and saving Hughes from development.  The Chamber, (endorsing a “NO” vote in the election) was influential in having the (Hughes) county property annexed to the city, to take advantage of police and other city services and make CSU’s planned development more marketable than otherwise.

There has been a great discussion of the destiny of Hughes.  Based on my conversations with 2,500 ballot petition signers, voters’ overwhelming wish was for the property to be conserved as aa natural area, with low-impact activities, like the recreation on the sledding hill in winter and the frisbee golf course, along with hiking and riding along existing trails, bird watching, sitting and admiring the foothills, low impact.

Mr Ross characterized that as plans to develop some sort of park, which he characterized as expensive and unfeasible.  Presuming the conversion of the property into a proper park, he referred to a Department of Agriculture survey, where the soil there was characterized as ‘unremarkable’ not suitable for a vibrant ecosystem.  I read that and wondered where on the Front Range one would find a vibrant ecosystem, except along the river.  Fort Collins was established in a short grass prairie, and that’s the environment that is re-establishing itself at Hughes.  And that environment supports dozens of bird species, large and small animals, as well as a rich selection of native plants.  This is what so many of those voters I talked with were voting for.  I never heard ‘bike park’ in those talks.

Mr Ross said he expected 1/3 of the available land for his bike park (160 acres minus sledding hill, frisbies, etc.…40ish acres, leaving 120 acres.  !/3 of that… 40 acres).  He talked about sharing the land and preserving the remainder.  This is (politely) a short-sighted statement.  What we have been sharing with everyone who will listen is that the Hughes property is sensitive to human activities.  A bike park is decidedly not low-impact.  Human activities (noise, crowds of bikers, cars, lots of foot traffic, etc.) has a significant impact on living things in the area.  Migrating and breeding birds, movements and raising families by other animals, slow growth and recovery of that short grass prairie (remember the unremarkable soil?)  – all these things and more take a hit from things like a bike path, or a nature center, or other high-impact use.  

Fort Collins has referred to Hughes as ‘a crown jewel’, situated between Maxwell and Pine Ridge Natural areas, and worthy of conservation.  It should be obvious that, given the impacts of activity, you can’t treat Hughes like a backyard garden.  You can’t claim part of it as yours (to grow beans) and say the rest of it is someone else’s for tomatoes.  The beans would eventually destroy the tomatoes.  The city can’t subdivide Hughes and seriously expect to preserve the natural environment of what’s left over.  Located between Pine Ridge and Maxwell, Hughes provides a natural link, a natural path for animals between those Natural Areas, two massive (multimillion dollar) spaces that Fort Collins (actually you and your natural space preservation taxes that have been renewed for decades) acquired and designated as permanently preserved.  As such, it would make no sense to do anything other than recognize that it is a critical link in the natural environment that spans the foothills on the edge of the city.  You can’t go halfway with this.  The space is unique in so many ways.  

As for the bike park – I think it’s a great idea!  Some problems: it would destroy what Hughes currently provides, and the park is planned for the end of the road, as far from where most people are coming from as possible.  Let’s assume that people will like it (pretty much a sure thing?).  It should be somewhere on the east side, perhaps, someplace with access to easy transportation Including from outside town (and restaurants and hotels?), not tucked away as far from folks as possible.  If the Council is sincere, it can do both – Save the Natural Environment at Hughes, and Help Create a Bike Park that works for most people.

So, when you have opportunities to discuss what to do with Hughes, here’s some food for thought (I almost said ‘the right answer).

Tom Farnsworth  

Fort Collins Resident