This land takes care of a lot of us.
People, wildlife, and native plants all depend on the same ground here in Larimer County. Shared Ground is about understanding what that means, and doing our part to keep public land working for everyone.
What is Shared Ground?
Larimer County's parks and open spaces hold more than trails. They're shared by the people who visit them, and by white-tailed deer, native snakes, rare wildflowers, and birds that depend on this same ground.
Shared Ground is Larimer County Department of Natural Resources' effort to keep all of that in view when we plan and build trails. Trails work when we build them together, on purpose, with everyone who depends on this land in mind.
- Wildlife — The neighbors who live here, seen and unseen.
- Erosion & Land — What happens to the ground itself when a trail isn't planned, but is built anyway.
- Ecology & Rare Species — The plants that hold this landscape together, some found nowhere else on Earth.
- Community & Access — How you experience this land, and how you help shape what comes next.
Who else lives here?
Before a trail is a shortcut or a workout, it's someone else's home. Here are a few of our neighbors.
White-Tailed Deer
Every spring, quiet stretches of hillside become nurseries for new fawns. Deer get used to people on official trails. It's the unexpected paths, cut with no warning, that force them to move their babies somewhere less safe.
Bull Snake & Rattlesnake
Not the neighbors most people root for, but they keep rodent populations in check from tucked-away spots in the rocks and tall grass. A new trail through their hunting grounds means more stressful, sometimes dangerous, run-ins for everyone.
Uhler's Arctic Butterfly
Camouflaged against rock and dry grass, this native butterfly lays its eggs directly in the soil of foothills meadows. A trail cut through the wrong meadow can wipe out a whole generation before anyone notices it was there.
What it costs when we get it wrong
A new, unplanned trail doesn't just add a line to a map. It sets off a chain reaction.
Water
Official trails are built with a slope and shape that sends rain off to the side. An unplanned trail doesn't have that, so a heavy rainstorm can carry loose soil straight toward Horsetooth Reservoir, which Larimer County relies on for drinking water.
Habitat
Every one of our neighbors loses a little ground, a little safety, or a little food source every time a new path appears where there wasn't supposed to be one.
Time and resources
Closing and restoring a single unplanned trail takes staff time, materials, and real effort: hours and dollars that could otherwise go toward maintaining designated trails that benefit everyone.
The land beneath the trail & those who depend on it
Invasive, non-native species
Weeds
Bare, scraped ground doesn't stay bare. Cheatgrass and other invasive weeds move in fast, and they spread outward from that one disturbed patch into everything around it, crowding out the native plants deer, birds, and pollinators depend on.
Erosion control
Mountain Mahogany
A slow-growing shrub that anchors these rocky slopes and feeds deer all winter. It can take decades to grow back if it's crushed. Once it's gone, the hillside it was holding together starts to slide.
Imperiled species
Bell's Twinpod
This small yellow wildflower grows in the cracked hogback soil of the Front Range, and nowhere else on Earth. There's no "somewhere else" for this one to relocate to.
Ways to get involved now:
We ask that you consider sharing in this commitment to our shared ground. Your digital pledge will help demonstrate our community's collective commitment to the land, the wildlife, and to each other.
- Take the pledge below to stay on designated trails.
- Share your feedback as part of the 2027 Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan.
- Volunteer for a trail restoration day or litter clean up on National Public Lands Day Sept. 26.
- Check COTREX or trailhead signage before you head out, to confirm a route is legitimate.
A few quick questions
What happens to trails that already exist without authorization?
It is our goal to close and restore them, no matter how naturally they formed or how well they were built. If a trail wasn't planned there, that spot needed to stay undisturbed, for wildlife, water, or safety reasons.
Does one trail really make that much difference?
But a stretch that fragments an undisturbed valley, reroutes rainfall or crosses a nesting area can matter a great deal to the plants and animals living there.
Doesn't closing a trail cost more than just leaving it alone?
Restoration takes time and materials, but an unplanned trail carries its own costs too, in washed-out soil and disturbed habitat. We'd rather spend that effort on trails built to last for the most community members.
This is public land. Shouldn't the public get more say, without so much process?
We agree, and that's the point of the public process. Public input is the first step, not a formality added at the end, and it's what makes sure this land works for a wide range of uses.
