The City Nature Challenge is Happening!
April 24-27
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The BCNA Bioblitz Get-Together is Canceled
Because of the COVID-19 Colorado shelter-in-place order, we cannot have a large group gathering for the annual iNaturalist Bioblitz. However, we do encourage everyone to find all the wild organisms in Boulder County that they can and to send photos of their findings to the Denver-Boulder City Nature Challenge. Last year, participants in the Denver-Boulder area made 62,111 observations and documented 970 species.
A bioblitz is far more than just a walk through an area; it is a chance to really look at an area to see how many different living organisms you can find in that space -- in the dirt, under the leaves, in a puddle, hopping, jumping, crawling, or just growing. Everything living counts. Rarely do we stop and look at all the complexity of wild organisms in one area. It can be a fascinating experience, and helps build a public database of our current earth that can be used to help answer all types of scientific and naturalist questions.
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Boulder County Conservation Issues
The BCNA Issues & Conservation Committee is tracking a variety of local issues. Below is a brief summary of some of these issues, with links included for more details.
County Fracking Ban and Draft Oil & Gas Regulations –
The ban was extended to the end of July, but
due to COVID-19 concerns, the Board of County Commissioners vacated the schedule for review of proposed regulations (Article 12 of the Land Use Code). New dates will be announced when renewed Boulder County operations can be predicted with certainty. This means that the ban may be extended to when the regulations are finalized, maybe by the end of 2020. More information:
https://www.bouldercounty.org/property-and-land/land-use/planning/oil-gas-development/#regulations
Proposed Management Plans for Elk Herds
- On Monday, March 30, the Boulder County Commissioners approved a three-year extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan and approved the Red Hill Management Plan for two years. More information:
https://www.bouldercounty.org/open-space/management/elk/
BCNA Prairie Dog Position Paper
– BCNA is in the process of drafting a position paper on prairie dogs in order to be prepared to address questions that come our way.
If you have any questions on these issues, or would like to see additional issues tracked, or would like to participate as a member of the Committee, please contact Gerry Kelly at
gerardkelly49@comcast.net
.
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Please be responsible when you seek solace in nature on local trails and open space: walk through the mud not around it, wear a mask, maintain a six-foot buffer, stay close to home, keep your dog on a leash because of heavy trail use, and adhere to all restrictions and guidelines. Our ability to access trails is put in jeopardy when you don't follow this critically important guidance!
Better yet, explore a new neighborhood each day. It is easy to keep social distance, walk your dog, and say hello to people when you walk on sidewalks and along roads.
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The Grant Committee recommended and the Board approved three proposals for the 2020 cycle. We received many proposals on a variety of topics, but we still didn’t receive any applications for research on our Colorado native cats.
Peter Innes was funded for
Assessing Genetic Diversity of Native Perennial Flax to Inform Conservation and Restoration
. He will assess patterns of genetic diversity and local adaptation in Lewis flax (
Linum lewisii
), a native wildflower of popular use in habitat restoration across the western US and especially the Front Range of Colorado, but for which genetic resources are lacking. He seeks to understand how much genetic diversity exists in Lewis flax populations around Boulder County, and how genetic diversity of seed currently used in restoration efforts compares to wild populations.
Molly McDermott was funded for
Do Rural and Urban Barn Swallows in Boulder County Differ in Foraging Behavior or Physiology
. She will use GPS tags on female swallows to track foraging areas in rural and urban Boulder County and capture females from their nests twice during the brooding period to measure physiologic parameters and immune status.
Anyll Markevich was funded for
Impacts of Cheatgrass (
Anisantha / Bromus
tectorum
and
Bromus japonicus
) Infestation on Mammal and Bird Populations on Four Boulder County Parks and Open Space Properties
. He will use mounted trail cameras and personal observations of six plots of similar habitat, except for cheatgrass, to monitor birds and mammals at intervals from May to July.
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Letter from Sue Cass, BCNA board president
As I write, I've been home alone for over two weeks, know not how long this forced isolation will continue, dutifully stay informed on ghastly global goings-on and yet, surprisingly... and blessedly so..., maintain my innate curiosity of the natural world that has simultaneously distracted and focused me all of my life. I am comforted by the realization that I am surrounded by so many friends and associates who are similarly afflicted, that we generously share insight and experiences and communally revel in the joy of nature! How so very lucky we are to live where we do!
Spending time in nature, even if it's in our own backyards, can be a salving and productive diversion of which we should avail ourselves and share to the fullest extent possible in the coming weeks and months. BCNA's Nature-net is an excellent venue for asking and answering questions and sharing your experiences, observations and images of the natural world and you don't have to be a BCNA member to enjoy this camaraderie, though we would love to have you join us! Simply go to
bcna.org
, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on Nature-net, review the guide lines and sign up! You immediately become a member of a large, extended family that shares your interests and values and who, importantly, will stay in touch during this fraught and frightening time. Be well, be safe and hold Mother Nature close now and always, as she will you!
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A special treat
For those of you looking for something special, for something different, for something uplifting, we would like to recommend that you listen to the
Birdsong Opera.
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Classes canceled and classes we hope to offer
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BCNA has
canceled all classes occurring through May and June. We are hopeful that we will see a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and we
hope be able to offer the late summer classes by Steve Jones and Scott Severs. Please check
bcna.org for updates in June.
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Steve Jones will share information on the strange relationship between
Milkweed and the Monarch butterfly and the epic migration journey of this beautiful butterfly. Registration opens
JUNE 25, Thursday at 8:00 am.
Scott Severs will lead a class to observe and photograph
Extraordinary Odonata – Dragonflies! Participants will learn about their life cycle, behavior, and beginning ID of these fierce predators. Registration opens
JULY 1, Wednesday at 8:00 am.
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For those of us lucky enough to have time to read and learn . . .
I often wondered how or why Long was honored to have his moniker attached to the highest point in Boulder County, the breathtakingly beautiful "14er" we know as Long's Peak, and it turns out there is a perfectly understandable reason. On the morning of July 2nd, 1820, as the expedition made its way south and west along the southern fork of the Platte River, the entourage got its first view of the Rocky Mountains. This historic occasion was preserved in a hand-colored aquatint titled
Distant View of the Rocky Mountains
executed by landscape artist Samuel Seymour that featured a cluster of peaks we know today as Long's Peak, Mount Meeker and Mount Lady Washington. Did you know the Long Expedition was the first federally sponsored exploratory expedition that was accompanied and documented by professional artists, namely Samuel Seymour and Titian Ramsay Peale?
The year 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the Major Stephen Harriman Long Expedition's sojourn to the "Rocky Mountain Front" during the summer of 1820.
There is so much to learn about Long and his company which included a physician and botanist named Edwin James of James Peak fame. In preparation for the 200th anniversary the Denver Botanic Garden has created a plot containing many of the well over one hundred plant species collected by James that were previously unknown including Colorado's state flower
Aquilegia
coerulea
James, Colorado Columbine. If you have some spare time on your hands I would like to recommend some excellent reading on this important historical aspect of our region:
- Retracing Major Stephen H. Long's Expedition: The Itinerary and Botany by George J. Goodman and Cheryl Lawson, 1995
- Looking Close and Seeing Far: Samuel Seymour, Titian Ramsay Peale, and the Long Expedition, 1818-1823 by Kenneth Haltman, 2008 (out of print)
- Account of an Expedition From Pennsylvania to the Rocky Mountains by Edwin James, this historical document is available online at American Journeys.
Once you take in this fascinating collection, I guarantee you will never look at Long's or James Peaks or a Colorado Blue Columbine quite the same! Enjoy!
-- Sue Cass
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BCNA’s
Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range
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The brand new second edition of
Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range: A Photographic Guide to 100 Species
by Jan Chu and Steve Jones is now available in eBook format! It is available for $5.99 from Amazon, Apple Books, kobo.com and barnesandnoble.com.
A print version of the second edition is available from Amazon and locally at the Front Range Birding Company, 5360 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder and 10146 W. San Juan Way, Littleton Wild Birds Unlimited, 2720 S. Wadsworth, Denver and 7370 W. 88th Ave., Arvada
The ebook has the same great pictures and information that the new print book will have. It also has links that make it easy to compare similar butterflies and to go quickly to the page you want to read. And, of course, it is easily portable on your mobile devices such as iPhones or Android phones, iPads or Android tablets. You can also read it on laptops or desktops. Please give us a review!
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Sign up for Nature-Net
To find out about classes, programs, challenges and what’s going on in the natural world of Boulder County and beyond, sign up for Nature-Net, BCNA’s and Boulder County Audubon’s email forum. To subscribe, send a blank message to
nature-net-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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A big thank you to all who currently support BCNA! Without your assistance, we would not be able to accomplish all that we do for our community and for the natural world around us. Memberships for the calendar year renew in November and December, but you can renew for next year any time.
Please consider renewing today if you have not already done so.
New members are always welcome!
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