If you want to know what makes Westminster special, you don’t have to look far. A visit to one of the city’s 63 parks will help paint the picture. A walk through one of the city’s thousands of acres of open space can help open your eyes. A bike ride down one of the city’s 125 miles of trail will make it clear. Our community is special because of the close relationship with nature we experience every day in our own backyard. 

Recognizing the value of this privileged Colorado lifestyle, the City of Westminster is taking the necessary steps to preserve these natural resources for future generations of Westminster residents. To solidify our dedication to this mission, the City is joining the Leave No Trace program to prioritize protecting public land and encourage widespread participation. 

“We all need to work together to keep Westminster beautiful,” said Parks, Recreation, and Libraries Director Tomás Herrera-Mishler. “That’s why the City is partnering with Leave No Trace to further strengthen our community’s shared commitment to environmental stewardship.” 

Leave No Trace is a national organization established from the work of the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management. The non-profit provides programming, education, training, and outreach all over the world with the goal of supporting and protecting nature. 

Leave No Trace has established the below seven guiding principles to provide a framework of minimum impact practices for anyone spending time outdoors. Although these principles have roots in backcountry settings, they can be applied anywhere from Standley Lake Regional Park, to City Park, and even in your backyard.  

1. Plan ahead and prepare 

2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces 

3. Dispose of waste properly 

4. Leave what you find 

5. Minimize campfire impacts 

6. Respect wildlife 

7. Be considerate of others 

Westminster joins several other Colorado communities in partnering with Leave No Trace and hopes to encourage more neighboring municipalities to join in. 

“Over 20% of Westminster is beautiful open space and we have always been a leader in the metro area when it comes to preserving our parks and open space,” said City Manager Mark Freitag. “We hope other communities along the Front Range will follow our lead and join our efforts to protect Colorado’s beauty.” 

Westminster’s partnership with Leave No Trace kicks off with the 2023 Great Global Cleanup event on Saturday, April 22. As residents join people around the world to beautify their communities, they will also learn more about the positive impacts of the Leave No Trace program, and how they can participate every day. 

“You can count on the City to do our part to maintain public land, and we know we can count on residents to do the same on private property,” Freitag said. “The future of Westminster is in all of our hands, and with an engaged community and dedicated staff like ours, this is welcomed news.”  

To learn more about Leave No Trace and the seven guiding principles visit www.LNT.org. To register for the Great Global Cleanup, click here.