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Parks and Open Space reports 2024 closings: county spent about $11.9 million on acquisitions, paid $6.2 million for Haystack Mountain
Summary
Parks and Open Space told the commissioners it added roughly 646 acres to county holdings in 2024, spent about $11.9 million on land and water rights, acquired Haystack Mountain at auction for $6.2 million, and monitored about 450 conservation easements.
Boulder County Parks and Open Space presented its 2024 closing summary to the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 11, reporting new land and water acquisitions, donations and easement monitoring work.
Janice Wiseman, real estate division manager for Parks and Open Space, said the department added approximately 646 acres plus associated water rights in 2024 and invested about $11.9 million in property and water-rights purchases. Wiseman highlighted several notable acquisitions and transactions from the year.
Among the properties singled out were a 106-acre Haystack Mountain parcel the county acquired at auction for $6.2 million; a 101-acre Cottonwood property purchased for $2,975,000 that included significant water rights and agricultural-priority value; a 40-acre Elk Draw donation from Colorado Open Lands with a reported $200,000 value; and a 1-acre parcel that completed county ownership of the Wall Street Mill site.
Wiseman said the department paid additional transaction costs in 2024, including an auction commission tied to Haystack Mountain and an annual option payment (Zweck property) of $262,500, which together added nearly $1 million to typical transaction expenses.
The department also reported accepting two donations: a Highlands Camp conservation easement transferred to Estes Valley Land Trust with the county as backup easement holder and the Elk Draw fee donation from Colorado Open Lands. Wiseman said the county had not yet received an appraisal for one donated easement and therefore had not reported a final valuation for that piece.
Parks and Open Space staff also described their oil-and-gas coordination work. The real estate division leads a team that advises operators and county permitting staff on maintenance and well work on properties with preexisting oil and gas rights; the county handled 14 maintenance projects in 2024 that collectively involved several hundred wells, Wiseman said.
On conservation easements, the department said it monitored roughly 450 easement properties in 2024 — about 53% of the county’s 848 conservation easements that require regular monitoring — using two seasonal staff members, volunteers and other department support. Wiseman said violations now average a “handful” per year (roughly five to 10), down from earlier program years.
Commissioners asked about enforcement frequencies, monitoring maps and next steps. Wiseman said mapping has improved in the last 18 months and staff will check that public mapping includes as much feasible detail as possible. Commissioners also discussed whether certain acquisitions (including Haystack Mountain) could be candidates for restoration or co-stewardship conversations with Indigenous groups; Wiseman said departmental staff would coordinate with the commissioners’ tribal-relations coordinator on such follow-up work.
The hearing was informational; no formal board action was requested or taken on the annual report. Commissioners thanked Parks and Open Space staff for the department’s work during the year.
