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Waterton Canyon

Waterton Canyon & Kassler Site Master Plan

[ Client: Denver Water ]

Sometimes plans reimagine. Mimi worked closely with Denver Water and its partners (Audubon Society, Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), Rocky Mountain Land Library (RMLL), Colorado Trail Foundation, and Thorne Nature Experience) to determine how the historic Kassler Town site at the base of Waterton Canyon could be revitalized to serve a base for public education around water management, resource management, environmental stewardship, and science-based learning. Additionally, the site plan and interpretive master plan provided recommendations for trail and trailhead, visitor management, environmental education, and nature play improvements.

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Palisade

Recreation & Agritourism in Palisade

[ Client: Palisade Tourism Advisory Board, Colorado Tourism Office]

The Colorado Tourism Office appointed Mimi as a mentor to develop a Marketing Strategy for Palisade. The strategy included Palisade Plunge preparations, agritourism promotions, Visit Palisade website updates, and ideas for collaborations across the Grand Valley that could help extend the Palisade tourism season.

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San Luis Valley

San Luis Valley Outdoor Recreation

[ Client: SLVGO, Trust for Public Land]

Mimi developed the San Luis Valley Trails and Recreation Master Plan for the San Luis Valley Great Outdoors Coalition (SLVGO). The plan positioned SLVGO to promote its abundant and varied outdoor recreation opportunities to both Valley locals and tourists. Mimi also assisted Trust for Public Land with SLV Inspire, a project to identify barriers to outdoor recreation among Valley residents and to develop conceptual site plans for recreation facility projects in order to set the Valley’s municipalities, land management agencies and nonprofits and up for future GOCO funding. Both projects involved extensive community engagement across the 6-county region.

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Fishers Peak Vision

Fisher’s Peak Community Vision

[ Client: Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, City of Trinidad]

After acquiring the 30,000-acre Fisher’s Peak Ranch, The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land hired Mimi to facilitate a community engagement process and compile a community-driven vision for the future conservation and enjoyment of the property. Mimi produced a vision report that was circulated to potential funders and political leaders. The vision helped set the stage for Fisher’s Peak becoming Colorado’s next state park and laid the groundwork for the ongoing master planning process.  

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Steamboat Springs – Winter Trailhead Management

Steamboat Springs – Winter Trailhead Management

[ Client: Colorado Tourism Office, Steamboat Springs Chamber ]

Anticipating a very busy 2020/21 winter at its trailheads due to the pandemic, Steamboat sought help with visitor management solutions. Mimi worked with the Chamber and its Routt Recreation Recreation Roundtable partners to develop a Know Before You Go website as well as media and messaging to inform visitors and encourage responsible and safe backcountry winter travel.

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Outside 285 Trail Master Plan

Outside 285 Trail Master Plan

[ Client: Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Colorado Mountain Bike Association, U.S. Forest Service ]

Colorado’s Front Range’s population is projected to increase by 20% by 2030, and the pandemic-driven 2020 and 2021 visitation levels provided a valuable preview of what is to come on public lands accessed by US-285. The need to plan proactively to distribute visitors, improve and maintain trails, and protect wildlife habitat is paramount. Mimi is supporting ERO Resources as a planner and facilitator for Outside 285, a 1-year, regional trail planning process focused on identifying opportunities for trail improvements, wildlife habitat conservation and management solutions within public lands surrounding the US-285 corridor southwest of Denver. 

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National Wildlife Refuge Planning

National Wildlife Refuge Planning

[ Client: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ]

Mimi has assisted National Wildlife Refuge managers across the Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains in addressing visitor use management challenges and designing for wildlife-dependent recreation on their refuges. These projects range from multi-year management plans, to site plans and sign plans, to community engagement, to the production of educational graphics. Mimi has worked on over 10 NWR projects including a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Charles M. Russel NWR and most recently site planning for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR and National Elk Refuge.

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North Star Preserve

North Star Preserve

[ Client: Pitkin County Open Space, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies ]

Mimi worked in partnership with Noble Erikson to design an information campaign that encourages respectful visitation at Pitkin County’s popular North Star Preserve. The campaign included signs, a website and this fun video designed to convey the importance of floating the Roaring Fork with respect, like a local. 

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Maxwell School House

Maxwell School House

[ Client: Colorado State Land Board ]

This one-room school house south of Buena Vista has a story to tell. We designed interpretive signs for the State Land Board that explain the early 1900s structure as well as the State Land Board’s role in generating revenue for Colorado’s public schools. Among the signs were small, interactive panels for local school children to find on site during their field trips to the Maxwell School.

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Lyons Love

Lyons Love

[ Client: Colorado Tourism Office, Town of Lyons ]

The Colorado Tourism Office assigned Mimi as a “Covid Recovery Mentor” to the Town of Lyons. Mimi packaged and promoted the town’s winter assets, developed winter and spring travel itineraries, and a campaign that positioned Lyons as a convenient escape from the pandemic doldrums.

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