Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Natural Resources topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resource Management division reports 2024 accomplishments: forestry, seed collection, invasive-weed work and wildlife projects
Summary
Resource Management Division managers gave a multi-workgroup update highlighting native seed collection, riparian restoration, fuels-reduction projects, community sort yards, invasive-weeds eradication and pilot wildlife monitoring (including drone counts and beaver coexistence work).
Stefan Bridal, Resource Management Division Manager for Boulder County Parks and Open Space, summarized 2024 accomplishments for six workgroups — Plant Ecology, Forestry, Resource Protection (Rangers), Invasive Weeds, Wildlife, and Education & Outreach — during the Feb. 27 advisory committee meeting.
Plant Ecology: Bridal reported that volunteers supported seed collection and restoration work; staff collected 237 pounds of seed from 35 species, grew native plant stock at the Peck Native Seed Garden and planted native species across properties. Staff also continued monitoring rare plants and riparian health.
Forestry: The division completed a 193-acre fuels-reduction project across Hall Ranch, Hansen and Riverside properties in the lower Montane zone. The project used a Colorado State Forest Service grant (the Incentives for Local Governments grant) and finished under the original cost estimate; staff repurposed remaining grant match funds to hire term planning positions. Forestry also burned more than 1,000 slash piles year-to-date and expanded community sort-yard tonnage for slash disposal.
Resource Protection and Rangers: Rangers reported more than 6,000 hours of patrol, search-and-rescue responses and community engagement programs; the county’s canine search program participated in 43 missions. Staff also continued community outreach programs, including San Lazaro engagement and Left Hand Outdoor Challenge youth mentorship.
Invasive Weeds: The county’s weed program logged more than 1,100 hours of eradication work, focused on prioritized species and pilot volunteer programs such as "Weed Warriors" at Walker Ranch without herbicide application for that pilot site.
Wildlife: Staff piloted drone-based elk counts to test efficiency and accuracy, and continued beaver coexistence evaluations on waterways with an eye toward stream restoration. The county also advanced preparations for potential reintroduction projects that require prairie dog colony acreage and disease management steps.
Education & Outreach and volunteers: Volunteers supported museums, cultural-history programs, naturalist-led events, and habitat restoration. The division reported roughly 1,268 volunteers contributing about 4,200 hours across 178 projects.
Committee members praised the breadth of work and asked clarifying questions about bristlecone and limber pine conservation, how drone monitoring affects wildlife disturbance, and how invasive-eed and weed-warrior pilots are progressing. Bridal and staff said many projects are ongoing and more details will appear in annual reports and upcoming project memos.
Ending
Division leadership said annual reports and project memos will provide more detail; committee members encouraged continued public outreach and cross-program coordination for priorities such as fuels reduction, soil-health grants for tenants and invasive-species work.
