The Summit Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Nov. 12, to dedicate $1 million toward the purchase of open space near Silverthorne.

Open Space and Trails Department senior resources specialist Jessica Forsyth told the board that the 11-acre parcel is adjacent to Willow Creek open space owned by the county and the Ruby Ranch neighborhood.

The parcel is known as the Lowe parcel after the family that owned it since 1940, Forsyth said. She noted that the Ruby Lowe wrote a history of the property, which was subdivided when the area that is now Ruby Ranch was sold to a developer.

“This speaks to one of the many open space values of this property,” Forsyth said. “We’ve talked about this a lot for possible recreation trail access … but that’s just one of many open space values of this property.”

The town of Silverthorne is under contract to purchase the property for $2 million, with the county agreeing to split the costs 50/50, Forsyth said. She noted that the Silverthorne’s Parks, Open Space and Trails Master Plan identifies the Lowe parcel as a potential location to provide trail connections.

There is also “an incredible amount of cultural history” on the parcel, including a few properties that are in “fair to poor condition” but which are enough of a “historical asset,” that interpretive signage could be installed, Forsyth said. The parcel also contains wetlands and wildlife habitat, including for elk, she said.

Following the purchase of the property, the county would work with the town of Silverthorne to finalize an intergovernmental agreement, Forsyth said. Then a management plan for how the parcel would be managed into the future would be worked out, she said.