Wildlife

Boulder County has a great diversity of native wildlife due to the many habitats found on open space. Wildlife biologists work towards the conservation of wildlife resources on our open space in a practical and responsible manner. We also manage our public lands in response to the effects of urbanization, fragmentation, and increased recreation, and address wildlife conflicts in response to agriculture needs and neighboring property owners.

Goals

• Conduct wildlife surveys to understand what wildlife resources we have on Parks and Open Space lands and incorporate the information in management and project planning.
• Work cooperatively with other department divisions programs and other wildlife resource agencies to continue to manage our land for best wildlife habitat, and to plan for future issues and needs.
• Work with Education and Outreach staff to develop excellent public educational programs and materials on wildlife resources on open space lands and to increase public participation
   

Current Management Activities and Highlights

• Prairie Dogs - In 2008 Wildlife staff and contractors removed over 2,000 prairie dogs in Boulder County from No Prairie Dog Areas and some Multiple Objective Areas.
• Bluebird Monitoring - In 2009 monitored 120 boxes using volunteers from the Boulder County Audubon Society, Boulder Bird Club and the Boulder County Nature Association.
• Carnivore Studies - Continued monitoring of scent stations and trail cameras to build a baseline of carnivore presence, identify important habitat, and provide correlations to human use and presence.
• Cougar Pilot Study - Instrumental in the success of the Front Range Cougar Pilot Study conducted by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
• Fisheries Management - Closely working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to manage warm water fisheries at Pella Crossing, Walden Ponds, Lagerman Reservoir, Fairgrounds Lake and Stearns Lake.

Documents

• 2008 Large Mammals & Fisheries Annual Report (253kb PDF)
• 2008 Avian and Small Mammal Elements Annual Report (50kb PDF)
• Prairie Dog Management Policy (1.1mb PDF)

What You Can Do

• Volunteer to help us monitor our wildlife resources and improve wildlife habitat.

Links to Other Websites

• Colorado Division of Wildlife
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Boulder County Audubon Society
• Colorado Natural Heritage Program
• Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
• Boulder Bird Club

Still Have Questions?

• Contact a Wildlife Staff person