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Saving All the PiecesBy Mark GershmanMark Gershman is a local naturalist. He worked for the City of Boulder Open Space Department for ten years and served as Director of the Colorado Natural Areas Program for two years. He is currently a consulting ecologist.Almost two years ago, Dr Thomas Power from the University of Montana visited Boulder to share his ideas about local western economies. He described how the natural environment, once important as a source of raw materials, is now valued as a source of beauty and recreational opportunity. Dr. Power suggested trails and scenery attract people to places like Boulder where they may earn less but enjoy an environmental wage unavailable in say Chicago or Newark. Dr. Power depicts the changed role of natural resources as desirable, hopeful, progressive and benign. The lecture led me to think about how the citizens of Boulder value their public lands. Surely we reckon Boulder’s open space and natural areas as more than nearby and attractive playgrounds. Or do we? I wondered to what degree the community supports natural areas managed not only for their beauty and hiking trails, but also for the conservation of native plants and animals. In thinking about it more, I was struck how apt was Aldo Leopold’s comparison of a natural system to a complex machine. He warned that “. . .to keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering”. In the City of Boulder, the guiding documents of the Open Space, Mountain Parks and Greenways programs each require that the City protect natural values while providing for recreational uses. In the past, use levels were typically much lower and managers faced fewer decisions about restricting access in order to protect natural values. However, in the last decade, rates of residential development and population growth have led to significant losses of habitat for native species and open areas for recreation. Do you recall the drive from Boulder to Denver 10 years ago? Boulder, Superior, Broomfield, and Westminster have all expanded into what was habitat for native plants and animals. With increasing human population and decreasing availability of open lands, Boulder’s public lands attract more people each year. The increasing popularity of the “outdoor lifestyle” puts more pressure on these areas. Management has become increasingly complex. Our community faces serious challenges for the management of our natural areas. We stand at a crossroads where we must reflect upon the value of these places as home for other living things. By placing value on the other creatures, I mean accepting that these lands are the only home for thousands of species, millions of individuals. We have taken on a responsibility to care for and protect this splendid diversity and to keep it intact. Each living thing is has intrinsic value in itself, but is also critical part of the whole. And it may be easier to protect the whole than the parts Take for example the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. The Fish and Wildlife Service has added it to the list of threatened species. The mouse has always been uncommon. It is now in danger of extinction because its floodplain habitat has been mined, grazed, plowed, drained and developed. Some of the largest remaining populations have been found on City of Boulder Open Space. These lands were not set aside to specifically protect this mouse—at the time it was unknown to the city staff. The floodplains of South Boulder Creek and Coal Creek were preserved by a community with a broad interest in maintaining the important natural values of South Boulder Creek’s floodplain. This broad focus is a winning strategy. The mouse is just one of many rare elements that persist on Boulder’s public lands. Boulder’s Open Space supports the state’s largest population of the Ute ladies’ tresses orchid and the largest tall-grass prairie remnants in Colorado. Boulder’s public land system has also protected common natural features. From ponderosa pine forests to prairie dog towns, we have achieved a great deal--protecting over 30,000 acres of land that can be managed to support healthy natural systems. The natural areas of the Boulder Valley have provided a home for native plants and animals for tens of thousands of years. For nigh on one hundred they have shaped our communities and given us splendid scenery and places to visit and to play. Boulder’s resource agencies are now asking for our input as they plan for the management of these areas. Mountain Parks and Open Space staff are proving to be as capable in managing natural areas as they have been in buying them. In response to the diversity of opinion about land management, these two agencies have created comprehensive outreach programs to gather public opinion. The future management of these lands needs to stress the importance of protecting their natural features The agencies need to hear from people concerned with the critical role our public lands play in protecting natural systems both common and rare. Participate in the public meetings. Support temporary closures of sensitive lands until resource inventories and management plans are completed. Conservative management makes good sense—it gives us an opportunity to assess the land. Support protection of habitat from disturbances by people and our pets—even if it means an inconvenience or disappointment. I encourage you to remember: The native animals and plants have no other home. They do not rely upon open space for its recreational potential—they rely upon it for their survival. They have no where else to go. Restricting access for people and their pets will surely face opposition from users and user groups who seek greater access and fewer restrictions. Trail advocates, and those with special interest in the access for unleashed dogs are parts of the community. Their support for these lands is an important component for the long term survival of the land system. Our Council members and the people who sit on the boards that set policy for the public lands will and shall be hearing from these interests. It is important that the Council hears from others as well. If you are inclined to value these areas for their habitat value for plants and animals, speak out in support of a conservative and careful approach—an approach that will ensure we value the diversity of life as much as the scenery and the trails. But perhaps most importantly try to value the perspective of others who support our public lands. It doesn’t mean that there needs to be agreement on all the details. But we do need to move beyond thinking of ourselves as the good guys and people with conflicting views as the bad guys. The world is more complicated than that. Frankly, we are the lucky guys. The people of Boulder are twice blessed, first with the incredible landscape where we live, secondly by a community that has had the foresight to save a good chunk of it. The people who value these public lands can agree on a great deal—and we have much to gain by sharing our perspectives. The better we are at speaking with a real understanding of the others in our community, the more likely we will speak out for an approach that encourages us to save all the parts. Mark Gershman |
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