100 Women Who Care Douglas County

The Lamb Spring Archaeological Preserve (LSAP) is a unique resource for the Denver metropolitan region because it is rich with information about natural and human history of the area.  The site carries two separate stories from different eras.

Lamb Spring has evidence of now extinct Ice Age animals that date back roughly 15,000 years ago.  Late Pleistocene megafauna found at the site includes over 30 Columbian Mammoths, the largest number known from any site in Colorado.  Along with Columbian Mammoth, we have evidence of camels, horses, giant ground sloths, llamas, and wolves. 

Also, Lamb Spiring has evidence of human occupation dating back roughly 10,000 years from present.  We have evidence of a prehistoric bison hunt (these bison - known as BisonAntiquus, which were 25% larger than current bisons), including projectile points and other tools used for scraping and butchering.  Some scientists believe there may be a connection between the ice age animals and human occupation, suggesting man may have hunted mammoth at this site.  

Located just south of Chatfield Reservoir, if you go out there now it is 35 acres of open grassland with a small shelter that holds a cast of the juvenile mammoth skull that was found onsite, and a few other artifacts. Nestled between Roxborough and Sterling Ranch neighborhoods, it is well visited and on the cusp of becoming a leveling up, for the Denver Metro Region, and the local community. And there are long-term ambitions for a museum and active dig site. But it just needs a little help.

Each year about 400 people visit Lamb Spring, mostly from Douglas County.  Douglas County schools are involved, as have the boy scouts and other local groups like the Audubon Society,  Roxborough State Park, Chatfield State Park, Dinosaur Ridge Summer Camp, and Morrison Natural History Museum.

The science continues to unfold, and we are planning for additional soil cores sampling this spring, using new and advanced techniques.

The biggest news, and one that Lamb Spring is trying to prepare for, is the new Douglas County Library being planned nearby, hopefully with space for a permanent exhibit by Lamb Spring. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is collaborating with Douglas County and Sterling Ranch to create this space, and it could be the start of the exposure and momentum that Lamb Spring hopes to gain toward a stand-alone museum and open dig at the site.