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- Adams Park
A Rural Heritage Center by Jesse Shapins, Landscape Architect
- Once a cherished landscape of boundless, glowing crop fields, rough wilderness mountain regions, and small, personable rural towns, Colorado has been hit as hard as any other region by rapid suburban growth. Residents and visitors can still remember twenty years ago when the drive North from Denver to Brighton was a tour of the great rural landscape instead of an unrelenting drive past cookie-cutter suburban developments and shiny business parks. Shapins Associates, a landscape architecture and planning firm in Boulder, dedicates much of their efforts to preserving and enhancing the rapidly diminishing historical agricultural landscape and the cultural heritage of the region.
- One of the districts that has been most severely impacted by the speedy development is Adams County, located just on the outskirts of the Denver metropolitan area near the new Denver International Airport (DIA). In1996, Adams County recognized the need to address growth and hired Shapins Associates to develop a countywide open space conservation plan. That plan identified important lands for conservation and defined a variety of ways to ensure long term preservation. As part of that plan, the Adams County Regional Park was defined as an area that needed to be redeveloped, redefined, and expanded to become a rural heritage center for the county.
- Working closely with the Adams County Parks department, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and park users and staff. Shapins Associates developed a new master plan for Adams County Regional Park in an attempt to preserve the outstanding natural and cultural resources of the region and to create a park that serves as a unifying rural gathering place.
- One of the proposed changes in the Shapins Associates' plan calls for the relocation of the Adams County Historical Society Museum to the southern portion of the park (shown top), beside lands that would be preserved as agricultural fields and crop lands for wildlife habitats. The plan includes interpretive trails along the historic agricultural ditch and through existing fields. The overall plan seeks to preserve wildlife habitats for many animals including the Yellow-headed Blackbird (left).
- The park is located 15 miles north of Denver along the South Platte River, on the eastern edge of the city of Thornton. The team's plan calls for the park to be doubled in size, creating three new ponds to the south of the current site. This area is currently a plot of land significantly impacted by gravel mining. The new plan seeks to revive the historical agricultural landscape and native wildlife of the disturbed area. The site is also situated between Barr Lake State Park and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, two significant natural preserves known for their abundant local wildlife and passive recreational uses. Adams County Regional Park's place at the center of this thriving wildlife corridor make it an important area for birds, including Bald Eagles, Swainson's Hawks, Ferriginous Hawks, fox, deer and many other animals. The South Platte River is also a significant riparian corridor that supports a large and diverse wildlife habitat and is an important feeding ground for many of the birds that use Barr Lake and the National Wildlife Refuge. For these reasons, it is essential to protect the unique natural qualities of the park, convert the disturbed areas into natural resource amenities, and provide means for careful visitor exploration of the area.
- "This park is at a very important location for the Denver region," said Ann Moss, principal of Shapins Associates. "It is in the middle of an area that is being severely impacted by the rapid growth of the region, that includes spin off development from DIA and the new E-470 highway. Our goal in this plan was to create an area where the natural landscape, wildlife, and historical heritage is enhanced and preserved, while at the same time meeting the needs of the community and creating a center that unites the region. We hope this plan might stand as an example of establishing a sense of place in prairie regions where suburbinization threatens the resources that define rural communities."
- The site is also rich in cultural history. Adams County was and still is an important agricultural area along the Front Range. Picturesque dairy farms and radiant agricultural fields make up the landscape. Many historic barns, attractive and functional farm homes and vast crop fields still remain, but now sprawling suburban development from the rapidly growing Denver metropolitan area threatens the historically rich rural area. Shapins Associates' master plan seeks to reflect and preserve this strong historical heritage.
- "With this park we have the rare chance to meet many of the needs and interests of the citizens in the region. Our plan seeks to integrate these different uses and interests while helping citizens appreciate their local heritage. We hope this park will be able to establish itself as a center that can draw the people of the area together."-Ann Moss, pricipal of Shapins Associates
- Currently the park contains numerous facilities such as the county fairgrounds and related facilities, a concert venue, two highly successful 18-hole golf courses, the Adams County Historical Society, a nature reserve, a large picnic area, two fishing ponds, several lakesand a camping area. This extensive mix of community resources, both recreational and educational, active and passive, give the park a rare opportunity to serve as an all-encompassing community resource center. The park has a broad appeal to citizens of all ages and interests throughout the area, thus creating a centralized location where the various aspects of the community can unite and socialize. As the classical centers throughout Europe might be seen as mixed-use social and cultural centers of their environments, Adams Country Regional Park could be seen in the future as serving a parallel function in a rural context. Confronting an already relatively successful community resource, Shapins Associates sought to enhance and expand the park's many qualities, specifically planning to further realize the park's role as a center for the county, devoted to expressing and maintaining the heritage of the region.
- In the new plan, the park is nearly doubled in size. The new portions primary focus would be to expand, preserve and provide interpretation of the area's wildlife, and natural and cultural resources. The plan creates a large wetland area between two ponds and the South Platte River. Also, the plan proposes to remove portions of an existing levee and alter the grades of disturbed areas in order to restore the natural floodplain of the South Platte River. This area would be landscaped to express the rich riparian environment and expand the river corridor's wildlife habitat. The area's main focus is to protect and enhance the wildlife habitat, while providing an area for passive recreation and environmental education.
- In the proposed new southern portion of the park, the plan calls for the creation of three new ponds that would feed into the existing ponds to the north. The ponds would be produced as the gravel is removed, and each would serve a specific purpose. One would be heavily stocked for children to easily catch fish. Another would be the main fishing pond, that transforms into a wetland on its eastern edges. The third pond would be dedicated primarily to wildlife, with its edges carefully graded and planted to become a native wetland environment. The plan also proposes a canoe route from the southern most pond, along the South Platte River, into the Mann-Nyholt lake at the northern end, and then back through the main fishing pond and wildlife lake. The route would be down a stream and then along flat, easy to navigate water, allowing visitors to be immersed in the landscape of the park.
- A new nature center is also proposed in the plan. It would be located at the core of the southern portion of the park, on a peninsula between the Main Fishing Pond (shown top) and the Wildlife Pond. The new center would be the hub of the park, and provide many important amenities for park users, from canoe and bike rental to an interpretive loop with exhibits (facing page, top) and direct links to many park areas. • Habitat for the Snowy Egret (left) will also be protected by the masterplan.
- "The canoe route is one of the most creative solutions in the plan that allows citizens to closely experience the environment while minimizing impacts," said Crystal Gray, the Adams County Parks Director.
- For the northern portion of the park, the new plan seeks to enhance the existing elements and provide better means for pedestrian movement throughout the area. One of the proposals for the northern part, is a plan to eventually change the landscape of the old, Knolls Course to better reflect the native vegetation and natural character of the region like the Dunes "links style" Course. The plan also allows for the preservation of an existing prairie dog habitat and seeks to rearrange the fairground structures to create a pedestrian spine with outdoor plazas that link to the rest of the park.
- The nature center and its interpretative loop would also facilitate environmental education programs specifically focused upon reaching younger audiences and school and scout groups from throughout the region. • Two of the areas other natural wonders include the charming Sulfur Butterfly and the elegant Heron .
Another important aspect of Shapins Associates' plan is the treatment of the South Platte River Trail. The bike and walking trail currently begins many miles from the park. Now, significant portions of the trail have been completed in Adams County and within the regional park. However, some sections within the park are disconnected and various bridge crossings are needed. The new master plan seeks to complete the trail and integrate it into the fabric of the park in a sensitive manner. The plan brings the paved path through the center of the park as opposed to along the edge of the river, where it would impede upon the existing and proposed wildlife habitat. This not only protects the natural environment that is potentially threatened by the active uses of the trail, but draws the travelers into the central portions of the park. It also links the key recreational elements of the park and forms a central, non-motorized artery through much of the park. LASN