Published by the Boulder County Commissioners

May 1996

As part of its integrated weed management program, Boulder County will be spraying open space severely infested with diffuse knapweed south and west of Superior with the herbicide Tordon. The County will notify the public through the local news media, postings on the land, public newspaper notices, and a hotline.

The spray date depends on the weather and spraying will not take place in windy conditions. The approximately 800 acres of open space scheduled for spraying is uninhabited and is not open to the public.

Knapweed is an aggressive non-native plant that overcomes native vegetation, leaving the land useless for recreation, wildlife habitat, agriculture, or livestock. The County uses an integrated weed management approach to deal with non-native plants which have great potential to destroy our open space lands. For example, in Montana more than 5 million acres of public and private land is so infested with knapweed that it is not useable for agriculture, ranching or recreation.

The County strives to keep herbicide use to an absolute minimum while using other weed management tools such as mowing, hand pulling, insects, grazing, and reclaiming disturbed areas. Herbicides are used only as a last resort when land is so infested with weeds that it does not respond to other control methods. Great care is taken to research herbicides in the areas of safety for humans, wildlife, water and other plants. Tordon was selected to spray on the knapweed because of its low toxicity and safety with humans, wildlife and livestock. Because diffuse knapweed is extremely susceptible to Tordon, a modest application rate of one pint per acre will be used. The County will closely follow all EPA, federal and state application requirements.

In 1995 Tordon was classified as a "Group E" carcinogen by the EPA (the most benign of five categories), which is defined as "Evidence of Non-Carcinogenicity for Humans."

The open space area southwest of Superior, where the County will use a helicopter to apply the Tordon, is the most remote area of the Boulder County plains. Of the nearly 2,000 acres of open space in this area, about 800 acres are seriously infested with diffuse knapweed. There are no homes in the spray area and the resident of the nearest home supports spraying as the best means of attacking the knapweed problem.

Tordon cannot be used where the water table is less than six feet or near creeks or bodies of water because it could leach into the water table if misused. The area which will be helicopter sprayed is directly north of Rocky Flats where precise groundwater testing equipment indicates the water table is 27 to 35 feet below the ground surface. The herbicide will not be used near Coal Creek or Rock Creek or any other body of water. Also, at the request of Superior, section 25 will not be aerial sprayed until spraying of the open space areas to the west can be monitored and proven satisfactory.

During a test application April 24 using blue-tinted scented water, there was no drift off-site. Drift appeared to be less than 10 feet from the helicopter application booms. Wind speed and direction will be monitored carefully during the spraying.

Last year dozens of citizens appealed to the Board of County Commissioners to be more aggressive in attacking the noxious weed problem, especially knapweed. As a result the Commissioners more than doubled the integrated weed management budget. The emphasis remains on integrated weed management, with herbicides used as a last resort.

Internet users now have access to the Boulder County Land Use Department expanded home page with an address of /lu/. The site is one of the most innovative County planning home pages in the region and includes frequently asked questions and answers, the Land Use Code, public meeting notices and minutes, information about the Household Hazardous Waste and Transfer of Development Rights programs, wildfire mitigation for homeowners, and much more. The web site is interactive and includes text, maps, photos and illustrations.

Land Use's expanded web site replaces the limited information previously available on the widely-accessed Boulder County Government home page. The expanded site is designed to be user friendly and easy to navigate.

While most planning-related home pages on the World Wide Web merely contain a listing of information, the Land Use Department's page offers an interactive version of the land use regulations which govern the unincorporated areas of the County. Instead of flipping through hundreds of pages of printed information, the user accessing the Land Use Code through the home page can simply click on highlighted words to get more information about zoning classifications, allowed land uses, and definitions of legal terms.

The main screen of the Land Use Department home page is the starting point for the user to access a variety of topics. In an effort to provide the most up-to-date information possible, the page includes a section titled, "What's New?" In this section, the user can access upcoming Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment, and Board of County Commissioners' meeting agendas. Minutes from past meetings are also included as they become available. There are also "Frequently Asked Questions" pages that answer, in lay terms, the department's most commonly-asked questions about zoning and how to obtain a building permit. Some of the answers have illustrations and photos that further explain complicated issues.

In addition, the Land Use home page user can access detailed information about several other programs. The Solid Waste portion of the home page includes maps, addresses, and operation hours for the Allenspark and Nederland Waste Transfer Stations, recycling centers, and the Household Hazardous Waste center. Illustrative information is also available for the County's Transfer of Development Rights Program, the Wildfire Hazard Identification and Mitigation System, and the Historic Preservation Program.

The first open space purchase the Commissioners approved in April was the John Clark Farm at the northeast corner of North 95th Street and Vermillion Road. The 97-acre farm borders the southwestern shoreline of Terry Lake north of Longmont and is adjacent to several existing open space parcels. The farm is prime agricultural land originally farmed by John Clark, a well-known sugar beet grower. Some of the farm buildings are historical and are eligible for local landmarking because of their regional significance.

The second purchase of the 173.5-acre Dollaghan property west of the Rabbit Mountain-Peper Trust Open Space was conditionally approved pending contract approval. The property includes designations for critical wildlife habitat, winter deer range, critical plant association, as well as designation as part of the Rabbit Mountain natural landmark area. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program calls Rabbit Mountain's foothills ponderosa pine/scrub woodland community as "very rare." The Dollaghan property is a key piece of the Rabbit Mountain Natural Area and its acquisition will help preserve critical habitat for many species.

North Foothills Open Space Open houses regarding the proposed management plan Thursday, May 2nd, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Commissioners' hearing room and Wednesday, May 8th, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Lyons Elementary School Gymnasium, 338 High. Public hearings will be Thursday, May 16th, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Parks and Open space Advisory Committee meeting in the Commissioners' hearing room and Thursday, May 23rd, before the Commissioners in their hearing room. For more information, call Dave Hallock in Parks and Open Space at 441-3950.

Boulder County Day in Lafayette Thursday, May 9th. For more information, call Sheree Stroud in the Commissioners' office at 441-3500.

Clean Air Consortium Meets Tuesday, May 14th, at 7:30 a.m. in the Commissioners' Conference room, third floor, Boulder County Courthouse. For more information, call Environmental Health Manager Tom Douville at 441-1189.

Planning Commission Meets Wednesday, May 15th, at 1:30 p.m., takes a dinner break and reconvenes at 7:00 p.m. The Commission meets in the Commissioners' Hearing Room, third floor, Boulder County Courthouse.

1996 Economic Development Program Contracts:

With Niwot Business Association ($3,180)
With Broomfield Economic Development Corporation ($29,851)
Boulder Technology Incubator ($10,000)
Town of Nederland ($11,500)

Land Use Department Contracts and Bids:

With Western Disposal to extend the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program (approximately $6,000)
With Environmental Innovations for mobile paint can crusher ($8,374)

Transportation Department Contracts:

For The Gapter Drainage Project, Tarco, Inc. ($29,693)

Finance Division Non-profit Contracts:

With Boulder Shelter for the Homeless ($47,250)

Finance Division Contracts:

With the Town of Nederland for the Teen Center ($7,277)

Architects Division Bid Awards:

For the Courthouse Concrete, to Lawson Construction ($48,992)
With Bighorn Masonry courthouse plaza brick paving ($34,180)

Parks and Open Space Department Contract:

TOR Engineering to survey Hall Ranch Open Space ($31,183)
With Custom Services of Colorado for mowing (not to exceed $22,050)

Road Maintenance Division Bids:

With Volvo Trucks for two single-axle all-wheel-drive trucks with accessory equipment ($228,998)
With Golden Andesite Mining Company for 3/4" road base ($3.50 per ton/ $5.30 delivered)

Information Services Division Bid:

With WilTel for telephone system expansion and upgrades ($83,796)

Board of County Commissioners
P.O. Box 471
Boulder, CO 80306
Phone: (303)441-3500; Fax: 441-4525