A shining autumn sun filters through the radiant leaves and twisted boughs of a cottonwood cluster. The cottonwood is a predominately riparian tree whose roots are never far from the water table. In the spring, the tree produces millions of seeds with tufts of cotton like hair that are carried on the wind. This ensemble of trees has made its home near at the edge of the Colorado's foothills and within the confines of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. Consisting of more than 43,000 acres of mountains and prairie, the parks are a complex of preserved lands managed by the City of Boulder and receive over 5 million visitors a year.