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The muskrat – nature’s unsung wetland contributor
A muskrat perches above the water on an early winter day at North Star.
One can only wonder how many visitors to North Star Nature Preserve have proclaimed “beaver!” at the sight of a brown, furry face cruising effortlessly through the water. Chances are they were actually watching a muskrat going about its business.
Growing local food and cultivating young farmers
Field Manager Anna Weller helps with the harvest.
Two Roots Farm at Emma Open Space produced about 60,000 pounds of vegetables for local consumption last year, but the operation’s yield did not stop there. Yet another farm took root as a Two Roots veteran launched his own farming enterprise this season.
From past to present on Smuggler Mountain
The Park-Regent Mine on what is now Smuggler Mountain Open Space, with Red Mountain visible in the background. (History Colorado. Accession #83.130.14)
Note: This history of Smuggler Mountain Open Space will be part of a 2024 updated management plan for the open space. The draft plan will be open to public comment in the fall. Keep tabs on this planning effort.
The story of Smuggler Mountain parallels the story of Aspen.
Once part of a pristine landscape where the nomadic Ute People wandered for more than 800 years, the mountain was ravaged by the industrial frenzy that ensued shortly after the first prospectors arrived at the foot of Aspen Mountain in 1879.
