February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 26
ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE
Charred ground and ash show where
the Alexander Mountain Fire moved
toward the sculpture at ViestenzSmith
Mountain Park.
Facing Fire: Resilience Through Design
By Kara Kish, MPA, CPRE
I
n northern Colorado, in the narrows of the Big Thompson Canyon
and alongside the Big Thompson River, is the city of Loveland's most
majestic public space: Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park (tinyurl.com/
mr2z3sd7).
Since its opening in 1926, the
mountain
park
faced floodwaters
has
routinely
and suffered
catastrophic and devastating impacts.
With each event, the park
was rebuilt the way it was before,
until a thousand-year rain event
dumped 22 inches onto the north
front range of the Colorado Rocky
Mountains in 2013. In the canyon,
the force of the Big Thompson River
turned this cherished park into
rubble. Loveland's city council and
park and recreation department
were determined to rebuild a resilient
landscape to face future flooding,
but also forest fires.
A Resilient Rebuild
Resiliency stood at the forefront
of design. The park was innovatively
and strategically redesigned
to sustain the effects of future
floodwaters while also focusing
on the park's natural aesthetics,
access to recreation and river ecology.
Built into resiliency planning,
the ever-looming threat of forest
fire also highlighted the need to
design the park to protect it and its
amenities through a fire event.
Several tactics were employed
by the city of Loveland to provide
fire
mitigation work,
felling
26 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 5 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
including
trees, removing understory
and creating defensible space
around structures. Many trees also
were limbed up to reduce fuel, and
walkways and stones were placed
strategically in the park to allow for
firebreaks. Fire mitigation practices
were adopted into routine maintenance,
including the regular removal
of brush around buildings and
on the hillsides. The efforts to redesign
and rebuild Viestenz-Smith
Mountain Park after the 2013 catastrophic
flood, and the commitment
to fire mitigation in grounds
management, created a reimagined
and resilient mountain park, ready
to face fire.
Facing Fire
After
the 2013 flood, ViestenzSmith
Mountain Park reopened
in 2018 and did not face an environmental
challenge until recently.
Last
summer, northern ColoraPHOTO
COURTESY OF KARA KISH
http://tinyurl.com/mr2z3sd7
http://tinyurl.com/mr2z3sd7
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025 – Parks & Recreation
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 1
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 2
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 3
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 4
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 5
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 6
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 7
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 8
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 9
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 10
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 11
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 12
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 13
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 14
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 15
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 16
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 17
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 18
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 19
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 20
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 21
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 22
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 23
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 24
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 25
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 26
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 27
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 28
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 29
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 30
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 31
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 32
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 33
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 34
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 35
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 36
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 37
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 38
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 39
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 40
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 41
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 42
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 43
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 44
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 45
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 46
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 47
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 48
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 49
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 50
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 51
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 52
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 53
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 54
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 55
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 56
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
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