Summit County Colorado’s new Open Space and Trails (OST) Plan proactively and adaptively guides partners and land managers across the county in: Conserving open space resources and ecosystem function to ensure Open Space Protection & Ecosystem Management; Connecting with nature and quality outdoor experiences to outline appropriate Outdoor Recreation Experiences; and Collaborating to address countywide natural resource and recreation challenges and opportunities to guarantee Program Capacity & Sustainability and Communication.

After decades of successful open space protection and trail construction, Summit County faces new challenges with natural resource management and visitor use. The previous 1996 OST Master Plan primarily focused on land acquisition for a newly conceived program. The new OST Master Plan guides the acquisition, trail development, maintenance, resource management and partnerships into the next 10 years to proactively address challenges and adapt to change. This Master Plan is intended to have the same quasi-regulatory function as the Countywide and Basin Master Plans. It provides broad policy guidance on open space, trails, and other outdoor recreation topics across jurisdictional boundaries that are important to the residents of Summit County. While most towns in Summit County, and the United States Forest Service, have their own management plans for open space and trails, all partners can look to this OST Master Plan for guidance when developing future goals and work plans.