The recent discovery of physical evidence of dinosaur courtship on Dinosaur Ridge reminds us how much there is to love along our treasured Front Range mountain backdrop.

This area is a source of civic pride as well as a unique constellation of natural geologic, prehistoric, historic and biologic resources. However, despite decades of discovery at this magical place, there are two major threats to its preservation: inappropriate development and a lack of facilities to protect the tracks and successfully educate the growing number of people who visit this world-class scientific site each year.

Fortunately, the opportunity still exists for our community to protect Dinosaur Ridge.

Here in Denver’s backyard, in 1877, the first of the world’s most famous Jurassic dinosaurs was discovered. In the 1930s, Works Progress Administration workers exposed dinosaur tracks along Alameda Parkway, an area now ranked as the most significant dinosaur track site in the United States.

Today, the ridge also incorporates two National Natural Landmarks and various state register designations. An official from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature suggested that Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge would make a spectacular World Heritage Site. The ridge aligns with a modern raptor-migration route also thought to be an ancient dinosaur migration route, where new evidence shows the dinosaurian ancestors of birds courting and strutting their stuff millions of years ago.

After 25 years of scientific and educational discovery, how successful has the community been in promoting preservation of this world-famous destination? Is success measured by preserving open space and promoting public education and nature awareness? Or does it mean commercial and economic development?

Can these different goals be reconciled?

More than 125,000 visitors come to Dinosaur Ridge annually, including 18,000 students, senior citizens, bikers, hikers, and international tourists. Many parents who first came as children now bring their own kids to the beautiful open spaces between Morrison and Golden.

However, the green space and mountain vistas surrounding the Ridge are in jeopardy from recent development proposals that are unrelated to education and incompatible with our beautiful Front Range scenery.

Dinosaur Ridge is described in dozens of scientific articles, guidebooks and award-winning movies, and will continue to gain fame as new discoveries are analyzed and broadcast internationally. It has outgrown its “gateway” Visitors Center and cannot accommodate future growth to meet increasing public demand. More seriously, it lacks a protective structure over the dinosaur tracks, which are under constant threat of weathering and erosion.

So, how can the community manage this open space between C-470 and the Front Range where deer, elk , black bear, bobcat, mountain lion and even an occasional road runner can still be seen, and where new dinosaur discoveries are still being made?

I call on developers, planners, and philanthropists to mount a community effort to build a dinosaur center with the kind of diverse services that reflect Colorado’s much-valued tradition as a state that promotes healthy outdoor activities, geosciences, and protects our majestic high country vistas. Educational and commercially viable dinosaur-inspired centers have sprung up elsewhere, in Woodland Park and in the “Dinosaur Diamond” that straddles the Colorado-Utah border. But none of these sites have the historic significance of Dinosaur Ridge, the same inspiring open space, or the accessibility to our diverse metropolitan community.

We want our children and grandchildren to see Dinosaur Ridge as a beautiful part of Colorado’s Front Range as well as a world-famous outdoor laboratory for geology, paleontology and ecology. As a world-class scientific and historic resource with National Natural Landmark status, the open gateway to Dinosaur Ridge should not be compromised by inappropriate development.

Colorado has a large geoscience community that values landscape and our lightly touched environment. This natural heritage is the birthright of future generations, and should be loved and cherished down to seven generations. Or is that back for a few million dinosaur generations?

Martin Lockley is a professor emeritus of geology at the University of Colorado Denver and a board member for the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. He was the lead researcher on the team that discovered physical evidence of dinosaur mating behavior that was announced in early January.

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