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The City of Albuquerque Open Space Division received news from USA Weekend Magazine that its Make a Difference Day project for 2012 has been chosen for a City Award.

Spring is a busy time in Open Space. We welcome volunteer support as the weather warms and we prepare for summer. I will give you some headlines of ways you can participate. Don’t forget that the Open Space Alliance rewards volunteers with food and prizes at our cleanup projects. Bring the whole family to these exciting events!

As of April we’ve offi cially kicked off our volunteer event season with the month-long Sandia Foothills Open Space Clean Ups! After April, throughout the spring and summer you can get out and help the Open Space Division and enjoy the warm weather at the same time.

In April, the Sandia Foothills Open Space cleanupwill kick-off another year of outdoor volunteerism. There is a contagious enthusiasm when you gather early on a Saturday morning with neighbors and fellow trail users to work on projects that will benefit our Major Public Open Space areas.

While hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding on one of the numerous trails of the Sandia Foothills Open Space, it’s easy to forget that this beautiful landscape looked quite different in the early days of the Open Space Division.

I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Bob Burgan on September 13, 2007. Burgan, 89, was the first director of the Parks Department when it was formed in 1954. Our talk took place in his living room as movers packed boxes. The next day he left Albuquerque after living here for 60+ years and moved to Ogden, Utah. – M.S.

I found myself one day in the Bosque (riverside forest) in the dead of winter. The leafless Cottonwoods appeared restful and barren as they store up the energy to transform themselves in the coming spring,

This March, Resource Management plans for four Open Space properties located in the East Mountain area were approved by the Bernalillo County Commission. The approved plans were for cityowned properties at Tres Pistolas, Juan Tomas, San Antonito, and Gutierrez Canyon.

Tony Barron, Assistant Open Space Superintendent, started working for the City’s Parks and Recreation Department on November 15th, 1982. He will be retiring this fall. Here, Tony recounts some of his early experiences at the Open Space Division.