Sessions: 2026 Colorado Open Space Alliance Conference

Name	Speakers	More Info
8:45 AM - 9:45 AM
1A- Land Blobs, Sticks in the Mud, and Cow-menity Management	Christy Spielman, Boulder county parks and open space Carrie Cimo, Boulder County Parks & Open Space Nolan Johan, Boulder County Parks & Open Space Sara Milligan Mary Rolf, Boulder County Parks & Open Space Shursteen Sharpe, Boulder County Parks and Open Space
1B- Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance's Collaboration in Colorado Open Spaces	Tim Luethke, Denver Zoo Scott Bartell Quinn Voeglie, Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance
1C- Mining, Reclamation, Recreation & Conservation	Joey Carpenter, Town of Crested Butte
1D- Usable Trail Roundtable: A Collaborative Approach to Adaptive Recreation	Matt Martinez, Jefferson County Open Space Craig Braski, CITY OF BOULDER OPEN SPACE & MTN PARKS Topher Downham, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Danielle Scroggs, Craig Hospital
1E- Threads of Legacy: Women in Conservation Through the Lens of Park Ranger Uniforms	Mel Georgi, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
1F- Using Science, Community, and Indigenous Knowledge for Holistic Land Stewardship: A Case Study of the Prairie Restoration Project at the Plains Conservation Center	Fendi Despres, City of Aurora Open Space and Natural Resources steven LaPointe, Aurora Plains Conservation

Name	Speakers	More Info
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
2A- Under Pressure: Lessons Learned from closing 46,000 acres of open space and trails in less than 12 hours due to climate extremes.	Jeff Haley, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Brian Anacker, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Hilary Dees, City of Boulder
2B- Win-Win Volunteer Coaching	Lauren Hennessey, City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department AJ Chlebnik
2C- Caring for the Commons through Play and Discovery: Partnership, Stewardship, and Nature Discovery at Pike’s Peak	Shane Brown, Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds Skyler Rorabaugh, City of Colorado Springs
2D- We Need You - State Wildlife Action Plan	Kacie Miller, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
2E- Ahead of the Incident: Proactive Methods for Boater Education and Risk Mitigation in Colorado	Brian Phillips, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Grant Brown, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Michael Haskins, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
2F- Stormwater Improvements with Open Space Benefits Case Study: Brantner Gulch in Adams County	Byron Fanning Chris Kroeger, Muller Engineering Company, Inc. Derek Rowland, CEI Constructors Andy Stewart, Mile High Flood District Cyndi Stringham

Name	Speakers	More Info
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
3A- Applying the USNVC 3.0 to Colorado Open Space (Part 1: Introduction & Community Engagement)	BRENDA WICHMANN, U.S. National Vegetation Classification Panel Michelle DePrenger-Levin Scott Franklin Mark T. Wiltermuth
3B- Director's Section	Byron Fanning Joe Reale, City of Westminster
3C- Caring for Our Commons: Building Crested Butte's Open Space Values and Decision-Making Framework	Gabrielle Voeller, SE Group Joey Carpenter, Town of Crested Butte Janna Hansen, Town of Crested Butte Jake Jones, Crested Butte Land Trust
3D- Regaining our Nights: A Land Managers Approach to Protecting Dark Skies	Ashlee Wallace, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Caitlyn Swartz, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
3E- Broad-Reach Stewardship: Practical Tools for Multi-Audience Engagement	Kellina Gilbreth, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
3F- Meet Your Grant Manager: Navigating CPW Funding Opportunities	Andrea Kurth, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Shalana Gray, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Travis Long, CPW Hailey Tresch

Name	Speakers	More Info
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
4A- Applying the USNVC 3.0 to Colorado Open Space (Part 2: Demonstrations & Case Studies)	BRENDA WICHMANN, U.S. National Vegetation Classification Panel Liam Cullinane, City of Westminster Michelle DePrenger-Levin Scott Franklin Marilla Havens Anthony Massaro Mark T. Wiltermuth
4B- Youth Engagement in Colorado Open Space Conservation	Brooke Zanetell, Western Colorado University Matilda Sleider Jim Starr
4C- Blueprint for Smarter Parks: Integrating Typology, Field Data, and GIS	Jason Meyer, El Paso County Parks Marc Barraclough, El Paso County Department of public works Cam Bowsky, Matrix Design Group
4D- The Awe Factor: Caring for the Commons Through Emotional Connections	Mary McCormac, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Tracy Predmore, Colorado Parks & Wildlife
4E- We Belong: Exploring Accessibility, Connection, and Community in Outdoor Programming	Kriste Peoples, Women's Wilderness
4F- Exploring Common Ground - The Future of COSA	Matt Robbins, Jeffco Open Space

Name	Speakers	More Info
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
5A- Breathing Easy in Colorado: Air Quality, Wildfire Smoke, and Community Connections	Erin Kendall, Colorado Dept of Public Health and Environment Amber Mitchell, Air Pollution Control Division - CO Dept of Public Health and Environment
5B- From Purchase Contract to Opening 15 Miles of New Trails – The Lost Canyon Experience	Justin Spring, The Conservation Fund Dan Dertz, Douglas County Open Space & Natural Resources Barbara Spagnuolo, Town of Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department Josh Tenneson, Great Outdoors Colorado
5C- Fantastic Bats and Where To Find Them: Surveying for Bat Colonies in Structures and Historic Mines	Erickson Smith, Jefferson County Parks and Open Space
5D- Weed Blaster - Jefferson County Parks and Open Space	Stephanie Murphy Meghan Castro Kiera Crawford Edgar De Paz Trustyn Miller Nathan Oehler Grant Reising
5E- Turning Concern into Care Workshop: Empowering Communities as Partners in Open Space	Jessica Anderson, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
5F- Hanging Lake Trail Restoration: Stewardship of an Iconic Public Landscape	Emily Kasyon Scott Gordon, ContourLogic Sam Massman, White River National Forest Ashleigh Quillen, DHM Design

Name	Speakers	More Info
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
6A- Blue Sky Thinking: Transforming Fragmented Management into Collaborative Stewardship	Shannon Dennison, Denver Mountain Parks Max Forgensi
6B- Building a Unified Sign System for Natural Areas	Zoe Shark, City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Lesanne Dominguez Tyler Dubin
6C- Leveraging Partnerships to Scale Biodiversity Conservation Across Colorado	Julie Kallenberger Dave Anderson, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, CSU Kristen May, KMay Copywriting Katelyn Tiogo, Keep It Colorado
6D- You Don’t Have To Know Everything To Make A Difference: Leveraging Community Expertise To Solve Equity Gaps	Kayla Drake, Fort Collins Natural Areas
6E- From Communities to Trails: How Community Engagement Can Diversify Our Open Space	Whitney May Taylor Monserrat Alvarez, Boulder County Parks & Open Space Emma Dhimitri, CSU Extension
6F- AHDriFT: A Small Animal Survey Technique for Small Land Management Agencies	Christine Sandbach, Jefferson County Parks & Open Space Andrew DuBois, Jefferson County Parks & Open Space Nat Warning, City of Boulder Parks & Recreation Chris White, Jefferson County Parks & Open Space

Name	Speakers	More Info
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
7A- Fort Chambers and Addressing Difficult Histories Through Site Design: A Case Study	Kacey French, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Hailey Malone, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
7B- From Dams to Decisions: Balancing Adaptive Beaver Management for Habitat, Trails and Infrastructure	Brandon Cary, Mile High Flood District
7C- Delivering on the Colorado Outdoors Strategy: Supporting Public Land Management Through Mobile Location Data	Jake Jorgenson, RRC Associates, Inc. Jody Kennedy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Dan Zimmerer
7D- Stewardship of Cultural Resources: Policy, Practice, and Compliance	Kati Fay, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Christian Driver, City of Boulder Department of Open Space and Mountain Parks Jonathan Hedlund, ERO Resources Corporation Allison Parrish
7E- A Place for Everyone – or No One? Rethinking Access in the Commons	Carly O'Connell, Pitkin County Annie Engen Liza Mitchell, Pitkin County Open Space & Trails Rick Norman, pitkin county Open Space and Trails Jessie Young, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails
7F- Wildfire + Open Space Funding and Stewardship	George Jutras Joe Lavorini Sam Massman, White River National Forest Jordan Mead, Summit County Open Space and Trails Hannah Ohlson Jason Swann, Trust for Public Land