Article Contributed on: 10/4/2006 7:44:51 AM
More than 40 artists toted easel, canvas, and brush into the 5,800-acre wilderness known as the Beaver Brook Watershed on Sunday as part of the Mountain Area Land Trust's (MALT) Trails Fest and the four-part Paint Evergreen. Hikers could choose to accompany leaders on a fitness hike with Nick Kapande of Nick's Pro Fitness, a photography hike with professional photographer Wendy Schott, a naturalist hike with Kent Simon, or a historical hike with Hank Alderfer.
The acreage straddles Hwy. 103, about 3.5 miles up Squaw Pass Road from Evergreen, part of the Scenic Byway route to Mt. Evans.
MALT played a strategic role in the preservation of the Watershed over the past decade, working closely with Friends of Beaver Brook Watershed and the newly formed Clear Creek County Open Space department. A multi-million-dollar loan from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) cinched the deal, warding off the threat of development and preserving an important (and very large) link in the 18-mile wildlife corridor that extends into Bergen Park.