The Plains Conservation Center is an outdoor education center and state-designated natural area in
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...
. 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
Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...
managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. 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
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the su ...
.
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
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 04.jpg, Pronghorn
The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 05.jpg, Tipi
A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...
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
*
*
*
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