Conservation Corner - April 2025
Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan:
UPCOMING PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) seeks to protect the natural environment of the Boulder Valley while fostering a livable, vibrant and sustainable community. The plan provides an overview of the community’s desires for future development and preservation of the Boulder Valley. The city and county use it to guide long-range planning.
The major update, which kicked off with a public open house on October 19, 2024, will be the eighth major update to the plan, first adopted in 1977. Since then, major updates have been completed in 1982, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2017.
It is important for conservation voices to be heard as the update progresses.
Learn about the current plan, background, and the udpate process, and sign up to stay informed here.
Join the City of Boulder and Boulder County for a Community Roundtable and Open House on Saturday, April 12 from noon to 3 p.m. at the East Boulder Community Center.
From the update website: “All Boulder Valley community members are invited to help further define the direction of the plan and explore how we can achieve our goals. This event will include an opportunity to learn about the plan and update, and in-depth roundtable discussions on key topics with fellow community members and staff.”
When - Saturday, April 12,
Where - East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Dr, Boulder, CO 80303
Open House - Noon to 3 p.m.
Community Roundtable - 1 to 2:30 p.m. Participants will be invited to join 20-minute small group discussions on topics like climate action, housing, affordability, safety, transportation and wellness.
Can't make it in person on April 12? Visit the A Boulder Future website from April 12 to April 21 to fill out an online feedback form and share your input virtually.
Stay tuned for more engagement opportunities later this summer.
Cross Gold Mine above Nederland
Cross Gold Mine Vicinity Map
The owners of the Cross and Caribou Mines, high elevation gold and silver mines outside of Nederland abutting Roosevelt National Forest, recently filed an application with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) for permission to expand its current 10-acre site to over 200 acres. With extensive underground tunneling, the applicant projects that the mine has the potential to produce 70,000 tons of gold, silver, zinc, and lead ore per year for 50 years. Each year, up to 40,000 cubic yards of waste rock may be removed. For more information see the BCAS website article here.
Public comments on the application were taken by DRMS through April 2, 2025. Thank you to all who submitted comments!
BCAS will continue to follow this issue and will reach out to members again if there are future public involvement opportunities.
NoCo Places
In early 2024, BCAS 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. Explore the NoCo Places website here, including the 2024 annual report, latest shared messaging and much more. 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, established by Governor Polis in 2020 and provides funding sources for the coalitions.
State of the Rockies Project - encouraging poll results in eight Mountain West states! The most recent NoCo Places meeting included an update on Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project. Their recently released 15th annual Conservation in the West poll shows that Western voters continue to support strong conservation and protection policies. The poll, which surveyed the views of voters Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, found that “Westerners prefer public land conservation over oil and gas development at the highest margins measured in the poll’s 15-year history. Western voters continue to express concern about issues related to land, water, and wildlife. Strong majorities of Western voters – including self-identified “MAGA” voters – support policies that focus on the protection and conservation of public lands and oppose policies that would open public lands up to drilling, mining, or other development.” (2025 Conservation In the West Poll, National Press Release.)
COTREX Trail and Trail Status App: NoCo Places member land management agencies encourage visitors to download and use the Colorado Trail Explorer app COTREX prior to heading out for outdoor adventures. COTREX is built for all trail users in all seasons COTREX now includes a fire alert feature that automatically notifies users about wildfires and prescribed burns- see this CPW press release for more information.
Unauthorized Trails inventory: NoCo Places recently worked with four member agencies, including Boulder County Parks and Open Space, to contract for an inventory of unauthorized trails. Data gathered will be provided to each agency to determine next steps. If you would like to learn more about this effort, you can watch the video of a presentation to the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee meeting here - click on agenda item 4.2 to be taken to the start of the topic in the recording.
The Boulder County Audubon Society leadership thanks the members of the BCAS Conservation Committee for their time and efforts in helping educate and advocate for Boulder County’s birds, wildlife, and their habitats. Thank you to the current members Bev Baker, Suzanne Bhatt, Lynn Merrill, Tori McKee, Linda Andes-Georges, Kathleen Sullivan, and Carron Meaney. If you are interested in joining this effort, or any other BCAS committees, please contact us.