The first significant product of the Connection Ecology project is this web site describing how the project's underlying ideas can be applied to a real world policy problem -- the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park Visitor Plan. The web site revolves around a series of "connection ecology" maps, one each for Flagstaff Mountain, Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and Eldorado Mountain. These maps together with accompanying commentary are intended to provide a valuable supplement to the more conventional biological and historical resource inventories commonly used by land use agencies. The primary goal of these tools is the identification of visitor opportunities which could be developed as part of an overall plan to strengthen human/environment connections.

While a great deal of effort has been devoted to assuring the accuracy of these demonstration maps, they were still prepared with very limited resources. This means that additional work and, especially, collaboration with other experts on environmental and visitor issues can be expected to identify opportunities for significant improvement. In addition, there are important visitor opportunities (such as rock climbing, horseback riding, and mountain biking) that have not been fully explored by the existing maps. In spite of these limitations, the maps should be more than adequate to demonstrate the underlying connection ecology concepts and help planners develop environmentally sound visitor opportunities that could strengthen human/environment connections.

The size of the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park system makes it impossible for this demonstration project to encompass all areas. We have, therefore, focused our attention on the much smaller mountain backdrop area from the Red Rocks area south to Eldorado Mountain.

All information is accurate to the best of our ability. Still, unintentional errors may exist. The materials were not prepared by professional historians or ecologists. It's possible that some of the stories related in these materials are not fully accurate. Readers are asked to bring any errors to our attention and they will be corrected.

The materials are copyrighted and can only be reproduced and distributed with permission. Permission to use the materials in conjunction with any type of visitor planning effort (including educational programs and guidebooks) will, however, be freely given. All we ask is an e-mail burgess@connectionecology.org letting us know when, where, and how the material will be used. We also ask that the materials include an acknowledgment of the source and a reference to our web site www.connectionecology.org as a source for additional information on the project.