City of Boise Reserves Management Plan

The City of Boise manages about 4,000 acres of natural and open space, and about 40 miles of trails throughout. Habitats range from riparian zones, grassland, and alpine forests. This open space management plan lays out the management principles, goals, and strategies for these open space reserves. The structure and content of the plan reflects public comment from more than 3,000 individuals.

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• A diagram that illustrates the relationship between high-level principles, goals, values, and specific implementation activities.
• Clearly articulated focus areas and goals related to the health and use of Boise's natural and open areas, and strategies to achieve the goals.
• "Snapshots" of each open space reserve in Boise, including acreage, history, ecotypes, management challenges, and park-specific management strategies.
• A useful chart that provides context for different data used in the plan (e.g., connecting state-wide mental health statistics to specific management actions in Boise's open space reserves.)

How to use this resource:

• As an example of an open space management plan and strategies to combat common challenges (such as invasive species spread, erosion, and wildfire mitigation), especially for Western cities.
• As a format to connect national and state-level data to specific management actions.
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Author: City of Boise Parks and Recreation, Ridge to Rivers Partnership, and Agnew::Beck.

Date published: 2015

Point of contact: Boise Parks and Recreation, bpr@cityofboise.org

Citation: 2015. Open Space Matters: City of Boise Reserves Management. City of Boise Parks and Recreation, Boise, ID.

Resource is available online here.