The Plains Conservation Center is an outdoor education center and state-designated natural area in
Aurora, Colorado. The Aurora property is owned by the Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space department.
History
The land that is currently part of the Aurora site was once part of the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
. The city of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
bought the land in 1933, and the land later became
federal land managed by the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
. An education center was established in 1949, and in 1969 a group of
sod structures were built. In 1997 the West Arapahoe Conservation District sold to the City of Aurora; about were sold for private development, with revenue from the private sale used to buy the West Bijou Creek site in Strasburg. The Plains Conservation Center non-profit dissolved and the City of Aurora, already owning the land, assumed management of the site in 2017.
Activities
The Aurora site features a replica homestead village that includes two houses, a school house, blacksmith shop and chicken coop, a replica tipi camp, and 1,000 acres of shortgrass prairie. Special seasonal events and education programs are offered through the City of Aurora's naturalist program and the
Denver Botanic Gardens.
Gallery
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 01.jpg, Entrance sign
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 02.jpg, Yurt
A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 03.jpg, Sod House
The sod house or soddy was an often used alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of Canada and the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s. Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 04.jpg, Pronghorn
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 05.jpg, Tipi
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 06.jpg, Cheyenne camp looking west
File:STUDENTS_AT_THE_PLAINS_CONSERVATION_CENTER_IN_WAGON_OBSERVE_PRAIRIE_DOG_COLONIES._ED_BUTTERFIELD,_HEAD_OF_THE_PROGRAM..._-_NARA_-_544802.jpg, Students observe prairie dog colony
File:STUDENTS OBSERVE FORMER LIFESTYLES OF THE PLAINS AT THE PLAINS CONSERVATION CENTER - NARA - 544817.jpg, Students view farm equipment
References
Further reading
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External links
{{sister project links
Plains Conservation Center
Nature centers in Colorado
Open-air museums in Colorado
Museums in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Protected areas of Arapahoe County, Colorado
Education in Arapahoe County, Colorado