Pamela Johnson
For over 20 years, journalist Pamela Johnson brought Larimer County’s open spaces to life on the page, bridging community and landscape. From bison thundering onto the prairie to joyful days at Flatiron Reservoir, her stories captured the soul of conservation and inspired many to step outside.
When and how did you first become involved with the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources, and what role did you play in advancing our open space efforts?
About 20 years ago, I started writing about the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources for the Loveland Reporter-Herald. This was my favorite assignment in my 30-plus-year career because I was able to share information about something that is very close to my heart - preserving and protecting open lands, nature and wild spaces. Growing up in Wyoming, I spent a lot of time hiking, camping and just exploring in the great outdoors.
I’m not sure I played a specific role in advancing open space efforts, but I spent a lot of time documenting what the department was doing, featuring the lands and helping the community understand what different open space and recreation opportunities there are in Larimer County. I wrote about everything from upgrades to campgrounds at Pinewood Reservoir and Carter Lake to the acquisition of new open spaces to changes in the fee structure.
I covered the continuation of the open space tax election. I documented emergencies at open spaces, from fires to unfortunate drowning incidents, wrote about safety and tried to portray what Larimer County Open Spaces have to offer, spending time in many of the different areas.
I’d like to think of my work as a bridge between the community and the outdoors, answering questions people may have had about open spaces and helping inspire people to get outside.
When Larimer County celebrated 20 years of the Help Preserve Open Spaces tax in 2016, Pamela Johnson was there to tell the story.
September 22, 2016
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald · 20th anniversary celebration at Horsetooth Reservoir
Larimer County Fetes 20 Years of Open Space Tax, 25 to Come
"The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
— Kerri Rollins, Larimer County Open Lands Program Director, at the 20th anniversary celebration
Residents gathered at Horsetooth Reservoir in 2016 to mark two decades of the citizen-approved quarter-cent sales tax that had preserved more than 44,000 acres of Larimer County land, and to look ahead to another 25 years, extended by voters with an 82 percent landslide.
From your perspective, what is one of the most meaningful outcomes or accomplishments that the Help Preserve Open Spaces (HPOS) sales tax has made possible?
For me, it’s just the array of different lands that have been preserved and developed with trails, campgrounds and picnic areas, the fishing access, the wildlife corridors. We all love the views that make Colorado special, and I believe the sales tax is the only reason we have so many of those lands protected from development. No matter where you live in the county, there are trails and open lands that you can access within a short drive. They include habitat for many different animals and birds that we all love to see. These lands are an oasis to many, a chance to slow down and hike, fish, picnic and really appreciate and care for nature.
Is there a memory or moment from your time with LCDNR that stands out as especially powerful, either personally or for the community?
I have spent a lot of time in the great outdoors in my life, and I have special memories from each open space that I have visited, both professionally and personally.
However, the one that stands out the most to me was witnessing the release of genetically pure bison onto Red Mountain Open Space and Soapstone Prairie Natural Area. It was 10 years ago, on Nov. 1, 2015, and if I stop to think about it, I can still hear the thunder of their hooves as they roared out of the pen onto the open prairie, can still taste the dust they kicked up and can still feel my heart fluttering at their majesty. Bison are beautiful, powerful creatures, and seeing, hearing and feeling their power, beauty and grace will stick with me forever. It also resonates with me because it meshed together the future and the past. Knowing that bison once roamed plentifully on this land and were now returning for future generations sparked goosebumps and chills.
Reporter Pamela Johnson has followed this conservation story from its earliest days — here is some of her coverage of the Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd.
First Purebred Bison Roam Larimer County Since Civil War
A rare herd of genetically pure bison would roam the plains for the first time in over 150 years — made possible by a breakthrough at Colorado State University.
Genetically Pure Baby Bison Born
A 10-day-old calf born at CSU — the result of artificial insemination using disease-free Yellowstone genetics — would be among the first to join the herd on public land.
Laramie Foothills Herd Doing Well, Three Years After Release
From 10 bison to 54 — and serving as a genetic resource for herds across the country — the conservation herd had taken deep root on Larimer County lands.
Another of my favorite memories is covering the Loveland Fishing Club’s Senior Fishing Derby at Flatiron Reservoir. It was so much fun for me to see so many senior residents reconnecting with their love of fishing and of being outdoors through this resource provided by Larimer County. Their faces would light up as they cast their lines into the water and shared memories of other fishing trips with their families and friends. It’s amazing how a day in nature can warm one’s spirit. While I was seeing them reconnect with nature, I too was experiencing the same recharge from helping them cast lines, from the sunshine, the birds, the deer drinking from the reservoir, the trees and the shared conversations.
Reporter Pamela Johnson covered the Loveland Fishing Club's beloved annual Senior Fishing Derby at Flatiron Reservoir, a tradition made possible by Larimer County open space.
September 2015
Senior Living Residents Enjoy Fishing Derby
At 93, Norma Nemeth made her very first cast at Flatiron Reservoir — one of 110 seniors who joined the Loveland Fishing Club for a day of sunshine, cookout, and open water.
September 2018
Loveland Seniors Catch Fun at Derby
About 100 seniors from nine assisted living facilities spent a perfect September day on the dock — where, as 85-year-old Kenny Fagerberg put it, "Now this is living."
How have you seen Larimer County residents, families, or visitors benefit from the protection, restoration, and enjoyment of open spaces?
Any time I go to Flatiron Reservoir, Hermit Park Open Space, Devil’s Backbone Open Space or any of the other open spaces, I see people outside enjoying hiking, picnicking, fishing, kayaking, camping. Sometimes, people are by themselves, reflecting on life and nature. Sometimes, families are enjoying time together, making memories. Sometimes people are out with their dogs or horses. But almost always, I see people smiling, recharging from busy lives tied to computer screens and phones, from mile-a-minute schedules. Earlier, I called the open spaces an oasis, and I think that is exactly what they are - a break from the stress of life, a way to exercise, a way to connect with nature and with other people. That is a very special gift.
What message would you want to share with future generations about why conserving and stewarding lands in Larimer County is important?
The open lands that we have are, to me, like a garden that needs to be cared for and tended in order to provide essentials. They are an important source of life that we need to protect and take care of to make sure that the nature we love thrives and survives, to make sure the wildlife we love to enjoy have habitat to continue to flourish. Life is connected, and we are all connected to nature. The efforts we put forth in protecting nature come back 100-fold in the views, the trails, the experiences we have.
Much of what has made me the person I am today goes back to caring for animals, lands and nature, to learning from childhood that these lands are not disposable nor are they immune to destruction. We need to care for the lands we love and enjoy and, in return, we get so much back. I hope for those same experiences and lessons for future generations.