Planning Design and Designation                 The process of identifying sites within city boundaries for restoration began officially in 1999 when the Department of Parks and Recreation provided the Natural Areas Program with its first budget.  In 2002, a Natural Resources division was added to Denver’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Natural Areas Programs became a major component.   The division of planning, design and designation is the vision and glue that unifies the five components of the Natural Areas Program.  This unit identifies areas to restore and rehabilitate along with wildlife habitats.  Then it sets priorities, develops and writes management plans, directs programs, oversees the budget, among other things.

Goals Plan Denver's natural areas as an ecological whole Restore, rehabilitate, conserve, preserve, enhance, protect and manage sustainable, healthy ecosystems Improve wildlife habitats and native plant communities for diversity and sustainability Design for human interface with protection of native plant and wildlife communities Design to facilitate the establishment of natural areas and minimize impact from developed areas including managed parks Encourage the use of naturalized landscapes in new parks such as Stapleton, Lowry and DIA Maintain the GIS database, vegetation and wildlife inventories, and weed infestation to develop, budget, and analyze costs; develop restoration and management plans; and monitor the progress of the Natural Areas Program goals for all five units