Keep Woodland Park Beautiful, the local affiliate of the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, received the President’s Circle award and presented the recognition at the Woodland Park City Council meeting on Oct. 16.

Kristen Higginbotham, staff liaison, introduced Cassidy Gilgenest, chair of Keep Woodland Park Beautiful, and Leah Waters, vice chair. Gilginest and Waters described the chapter’s 2025 activities: planting flowers in city garden beds through the Adopt‑a‑Garden program; the 23rd annual community cleanup with more than 100 volunteers and more than 75 drop‑offs at the transfer station; a record‑setting Creek Week cleanup in partnership with the Fountain Creek Watershed District that cleared litter along the creek from central Woodland Park downstream; and plans to present a business beautification award for local organizations.

In public comment, Diane Reed, Woodland Park resident, thanked the council for acquiring Avenger open space and praised mitigation work done by Team Rubicon, saying the crew removed "over a thousand trees and massive amounts of slash" in high‑risk wildfire areas. Reed said a tree she photographed years ago was identified by a man of Ute heritage as a culturally modified tree and that she received permission from the Ute Mountain Ute tribal chairman, Manuel Hart, to publicly thank the council for protecting such trees on the open space. Reed emphasized that culturally modified trees are a sensitive subject for the Ute people and commended Team Rubicon for training and protecting sacred trees during mitigation work.

Tom Gearhart, a resident who spoke during the general public comment period, said he had sent emails to the city manager requesting information about the city garden and had not received a direct response; he said he’d appreciated follow‑up from staff member Susan Leclerc but wanted the opportunity to meet with the city manager.

Council members praised the volunteers and staff for the cleanup efforts and encouraged residents to join future events; staff noted the Keep Woodland Park Beautiful committee meets monthly and is seeking more volunteers.