The Durham Valley Scenic Byway spotlights a region where mountains begin quite dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley. In a press release at the time of the scenic road designation, New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Thomas C. Jorling noted the “extraordinary scenic quality along these roads,” and observed that “Marvelous vistas, mountains, woodlands and other natural features in the Town of Durham have made these roads worthy of the scenic roads designation.”

The Durham Valley Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan specifies the actions, procedures, operational and administrative practices, and strategies to maintain the natural, scenic, recreational, historic, and agricultural qualities of the byway corridor while recognizing the need to promote tourism and economic development.

ERO is preparing the Corridor Management Plan under the guidance of the Durham Valley Scenic Byway Coordinating Committee, with the assistance and input of a diverse group of stakeholders. The project is supported with a grant from the Federal Highway Administration through the National Scenic Byways Program and matching funds from the Durham Valley Land Trust.

RO assisted the Snake River Task Force (Teton County, Snake River Fund, Bureau of Land Management, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and the Jackson Hole Land Trust) to develop an implementation plan for the transfer and management of BLM holdings along the Snake River. These parcels, 24 in total, represented a wide variety of values ranging from sensitive wildlife habitat to popular recreational use areas. The final plan will identifies resource values on each parcel, ownership and management recommendations, potential models for cooperative management, and implementation costs.

The Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative establishes a “greenprint” to guide the creation of an interconnected system of trails, historic sites, and open space in northwestern Park County stretching from Hoosier Pass to Weston Pass. ERO facilitated a large group of stakeholders, managed the planning process, and ultimately completed a strategic plan to identify the highest priority areas for protection and implementation opportunities based on a comprehensive analysis of resources.

The City of Lafayette retained ERO Resources to develop an Open Space and Trails Master Plan. ERO worked closely with City staff to implement a planning process that included input from the public, the Lafayette Open Space Advisory Committee, and the Lafayette City Council. The completed master plan is a dynamic tool that identifies and prioritizes open space conservation and trail recommendations, and provides specific guidance on habitat conservation, natural resource management, recreation and trail administration, and community relations.

As a follow-up to the Master Plan, the City of Lafayette retained ERO to develop a city-wide prairie dog management policy, as well as an assessment for relocation of prairie dogs on open space parcels.

The Town of Nederland retained ERO to develop a plan for the Town and surrounding areas. Using our experience in natural resource and visual assessment, open lands acquisition planning and implementation, long-term open space funding strategies, and community planning, ERO created an approach tailored to the unique landscapes of Nederland. Multiple partners and strong community involvement resulted in a Master Plan that represents all stakeholder interests and will carry Nederland through a new period of land protection.

As a follow-up to the Master Plan, the Town of Nederland retained the ERO Team to develop general open space management guidelines and an acquisition plan for the Town.

ERO provided public facilitation and planning to the South Central Idaho Tourism and Recreation Development Association (SCITRDA) to produce a comprehensive North Rim Park Conceptual Plan. North Rim Park is approximately 7,200 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land under a twenty-five year lease to Jerome County. It is located along the north rim of the Snake River Canyon, just north of Twin Falls, Idaho.. The planning process for the conceptual plan was a collaboration of several entities, including SCITRDA, Jerome County Commissioners, BLM, the North Rim Park Advisory Committee, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, key stakeholders and citizens.

ERO led the effort to conduct focus groups with stakeholders, as well as a design charette and a public open house to gather input for the development of the North Rim Park Conceptual Plan. The Plan must protect the water quality in the Blue Lakes aquifer which supplies Twin Falls' drinking water and consider the recreational uses of the Park while protecting its cultural, historical, and panoramic assets It will also enable the advisory committee to move forward into the next phase of the vision for North Rim Park.