OCTOBER 16, 2023
It starts at the top: The intertwined fates of water and ecosystems in the climate crisis
We were pleased to once again hold BCNA’s annual ecosymposium, this year hosted by BCNA and the Center for Sustainable Landscapes and Communities at the University of Colorado. If you did not attend and want to learn more about water and current and expected environmental changes resulting from climate change, please look through the abstracts and slides for the presentations at the ecosymposium. Speakers looked at specific impacts from changes in Boulder County climate on algal blooms and the geochemistry of local waters. They also showed ways to use landscape modifications to rewet natural areas receiving limited natural precipitation and to grow food on agricultural land. Fascinating! 

Changing Grasslands
As the season changes, we encourage you to look at and appreciate the variety of grassland ecosystems in Boulder County. The Boulder County Fireshed’s Grasslands Working Group recently released an online story map about these grasslands with highlights about what we learned from the Marshall Fire and how this knowledge can help us create fire-adapted communities, build resilient landscapes, and plan for safe and effective wildfire responses. This report summarizes long-term actions for grassland management, the adaptive management process, the complex history of grasslands in Boulder County, and how this history impacts present-day management. It also includes recommended fire mitigations that hopefully can provide some protection to those living in or near Boulder County’s grasslands. In addition, it covers management practices and other features such as prairie dog colonies, wetlands and riparian areas, irrigation ditches, and irrigated agriculture, all of which can impact fuel loading and fire behavior.


Want to learn more? Join us on a field trip near Superior sponsored by the Boulder Watershed Collective and led by experts in their field to hear more about grassland ecosystems in Boulder County. During a walk through these grasslands, people working in the grassland ecosystem will discuss open space management strategies, fire interactions, goat grazing, plant surveys and monitoring, fuel reduction efforts, and wildfire. This field trip is organized by the Boulder Watershed Collective, Superior Open Space, Goat Bros, the Butterfly Pavilion, Boulder County Youth Corps, the Mountain View Fire Protection District, and other local partners.

When: Tuesday, October 24th from 4-6 pm
Where: Coalton Trailhead, 3495 McCaslin Boulevard, Superior, CO
The East Boulder Creek Draft Management Plan
The East Boulder Creek Draft Management Plan is now available for review and public comment. The final community survey ends on Sunday, October 29, at midnight.

The Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee will hold hearings on October 26 and November 16; the Boulder County Commissioners will hold a hearing on December 14.
Boulder County Draft Integrated Weed Management Plan
Boulder County has released its Draft Integrated Weed Management Plan for public review and comment. Please consider reviewing the plan and completing the related feedback survey. This plan and map present a decision model for early detection and response and tools to control different classifications of noxious weed species. One of the possible tools listed is aerial spraying of herbicides.

The survey closes in two days, on October 18.

The Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee will hold public hearings on December 5; the Boulder County Commissioners will hold a hearing on January 23.



A big thank you to all who currently support BCNA!
Please consider renewing today if you have not already done so.
New members are always welcome!