Conservation Corner Updates

Written by the BCAS Conservation Committee

79th Street Proposed Membership Tennis Facility

In January 2024, landowners submitted an application for a Special Use Review to Boulder County Planning, to construct a membership tennis facility with tennis courts, a swimming pool, parking lot and other structures just northwest of the intersection of 79th Street and Lookout Road. Nearby residents opposing the development created a comprehensive website. BCAS wrote a letter to Boulder County Planning expressing concerns, primarily impacts to surrounding open space lands with special wildlife protections, and opposing the development. Many other individuals and organizations commented. On March 4, the developers requested tabling their application. Tabling means the application may be considered again in the future. BCAS will stay tuned and comment again if necessary.

East Boulder Creek Site Management Plan

The Conservation Committee engaged in all phases of the EBC plan over the last year, providing comments to Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS), the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee, and Boulder County Commissioners, and emailing information to BCAS members and the Nature-Net list.

On January 25, the Boulder County Commissioners recommended that staff remove recreation access to the northeast section of the East Boulder Creek site, now called Prairie Run Open Space, and prohibit dogs on the entire site. However, this turned out not to be a final decision. On March 28, the Commissioners reconsidered the entire plan. They kept the prohibition of dogs. They decided to eliminate the “loop trail” proposed on the north side of Kenosha Wetlands and the east side of Coal Creek, but left in the other recreation activities in the northeast section, including a parking lot, accessible trail, fishing access, shelter, and play area. This was a setback from January 25, but eliminating the loop trail represents an important change that will benefit the important wildlife habitats in Kenosha Wetlands Critical Wildlife Habitat and along Coal Creek.

For more information, see the East Boulder Creek website and BCAS’s online articles with our comments during the various phases of the project.

NOCO Places

BCAS recently became a partner in NOCO Places, a coalition of eight county, state, and federal public land agencies from north-central Colorado that are actively collaborating to address the challenges the mountains and foothills in this region are facing from high visitation and a growing population. See the member agencies list, mission statement, goals, partners, core principles and more here. NOCO Places is one of a number of Regional Partnerships around Colorado that are part of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) Regional Partnership Program, which was established by Governor Polis in 2020 and provides funding sources for the coalitions.

NOCO Places is working with tourism partners to distribute common messaging about land stewardship and safety to Colorado visitors, who may be new to our state and unaware of how to recreate responsibly and safely on public lands.

Have you tried the COTREX app?

One tangible activity that NOCO Places is engaging in is to promote CPW’s COTREX app. The app is a great source of accurate, up-to-date trail information for public lands in Colorado from local, state, and federal agencies. It is built for all trail users, including hiking, mountain biking, equestrian riding, and motorized recreation. You can download it from the Apple Store and Google Play.

Boulder County Weed Management Plan Update

BCAS’s Conservation Committee provided general comments to Boulder County Parks and Open Space and the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee about the weed management plan update. BCPOS is making major changes to the plan based on extensive public feedback, primarily around reducing herbicide use and incorporating alternative treatment methods. Our comments have expressed general support for the direction the plan is taking, using an integrated weed management approach while reducing herbicide use over time and increasing use of other treatment methods.

A view of the Flatirons from the south. Photo by Bev Baker.