HISTORY OF BOULDER COUNTY NATURE ASSOCIATION

The Boulder County Nature Association (BCNA) was incorporated as a private 501C(3) Nonprofit Corporation (ID number 19871488824) in the State of Colorado on 08/23/1982. BCNA was formed by local environmentalists and employees of Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) to research and educate about the natural history of Boulder County. Initial tasks included writing the Environmental Resources Element of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (BCCP) and providing a nonprofit to support BCPOS volunteer activities, including the volunteer naturalist program and the Walker Ranch Heritage Festival. Original Board members included Dave Alles (naturalist), Mike Figgs (naturalist), Dave Hallock (Boulder County Planner), Rob Helmick (Boulder County Planner), Rich Koopman (BCPOS Resource Specialist), and Nan Lederer (naturalist).

1982-present: Indian Peaks Four-season Bird Counts were initiated by Dave Hallock and Mike Figgs. This is the first high country bird count and the only four-season count in North America. As of 2014, more than 300 volunteers have participated and a half dozen articles and pamphlets have been published. Pamphlets have been printed by Boulder County Nature Association at five-year intervals, and data from 1998-present are available on the BCNA website.. Two summaries of count results have appeared in Colorado Field Ornithologists Quarterly.

1982: Cliff-nesting raptor monitoring was initiated by Mike Figgs and Nancy Lederer. Several hundred volunteers have participated in this project which monitors nesting Golden Eagles, Prairie Falcons and Peregrine Falcons in Boulder and adjacent counties. In the late 1990s most monitoring responsibilities were assumed by city and county open space departments and their volunteers.

1983-present: BCNA wintering raptor survey was initiated by Steve Jones. This was the first comprehensive study of wintering raptor populations on the Great Plains and has been conducted continuously since 1983. Hundreds of volunteers have supported the survey since its inception. Data summaries are available on the BCNA website. In 1989, Steve Jones published “Populations and Prey Selection of Wintering Raptors in Boulder County, Colorado.” In spring, 1996, Randy Geitzen, Stephen Jones, and James McKee published “Hawks, Eagles, and Prairie Dogs; Populations of Wintering Raptors in Boulder County.” In the Colorado Field Ornithologists Journal.

1984: Dave Hallock and Mike Figgs completed a comprehensive inventory of mountain willow cars and plains riparian woodlands and mapped elk migration corridors in Boulder County. In partnership with Boulder County Parks and Open Space, BCNA developed the Boulder County Ecosystem Plan, a general roadmap for protecting roughly 50% of the County from development and environmental degradation. We used mapped data concerning elk migration and wintering areas, black bear concentration areas, and mountain lion concentration areas and migration corridors, along with data concerning habitats for species of special concern, to develop the plan. The plan is used to help shape development of housing developments, roads, trails, parks, and other amenities throughout Boulder County. Dave Hallock wrote a reflection on this work in 2007.

1985: The BCNA Boulder County Avian Species of Special Concern List was published. The list is updated every five (5) to ten (10) years through volunteer submitted reports. The last update occurred in 2010 and is available online .

1985-present: BCNA initiated its small research grants program. Since 2010, up to $4000 in grants are distributed on an annual basis.

1980s-present: In partnership with land developer James Gurcio, we establish the Allegra Collister Nature Preserve along Lykins Gulch just north of St. Vrain Road and east of US 36, where volunteers had been banding birds since the 1950s. This banding has continued to the present, supported in part by grants from BCNA and Boulder County Audubon. BCNA turned the property over to Boulder County Parks and Open Space in 2011. Between 1990 and 2014, volunteers banded more than 15,000 birds. Bird-banding was first conducted in Lykins Gulch by Allegra Collister in the early 1950s (see the history of bird-banding at the ACNP).

Mid-1980s: The Boulder County Land Trust was founded as a committee of BCNA. The Land Trust was established to help local landowners preserve their lands. Through the Land Trust, BCNA acquired (through donation) Conservation Easements (CE) on the Allegra Collister Nature Preserve (James Guercio) and the Sevenhills Subdivision CE (Vera Evenson).

1985-93: A small owl study was initiated by Steve Jones and others. More than 100 volunteers conducted a census of small, cavity-nesting owl populations in mountain forests. This was the first comprehensive study of small owls in the Central Rockies.

Jones, Stephen. 1993. Distribution of small forest owls in Boulder County, Colorado. Colorado Field Ornithologists Journal.
Jones, Stephen, and Linda Mahoney. 2010. Owls of Boulder County. Boulder County Nature Association

1988-present: The first Boulder County Ecosystem Symposium was held. Annual one-day symposiums now occur in early spring, attracting 100 to 150 attendees. Symposiums have been held annually since approximately 1998.

1997: BCNA received the Boulder County Commissioner’s Conservation Award.

1998-present: BCNA’s field ecology class program was initiated. BCNA now holds 7 to 13 classes per year with 100 to 150 students participating.

2004-present: Boulder Reservoir birds of special concern monitoring is initiated in conjunction with the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department (OSMP). About twenty (20) volunteers participate each year.

2005-present: BCNA initiates the Ecosystem Stewardship project. About fifty (50) volunteers have participated in this long-term monitoring of natural areas in Boulder County. Twenty seven (27) natural areas have been adopted. Data are maintained and compiled by Steve Jones and shared with local agencies.

2005: The Boulder County Land Trust is disbanded due to changes in federal land trust requirements and the fact that BCPOS and other organizations were filling this need.

2007-11: The transfer of BCNA’s interests in both the Allegra Collister Nature Preserve (ACNP) and Sevenhills Subdivision Conservation Easements to BCPOS is initiated. BCNA’s interest in the Allegra Collister Nature Preserve Conservation Easement is transferred to BCPOS on 08/23/2011 via Assignment of Deed of Conservation Easement in Gross, Record #03166894. Transfer of the Sevenhills Subdivision Conservation Easement has not been completed as of 10/27/2014.

2008-present: Burrowing owl nest monitoring is initiated by Boulder County Audubon in cooperation with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. BCNA joined this effort as a partner in 2011 and assumed responsibility for volunteer training and monitoring coordination.

—- Compiled by Steve Jones and edited by Sue Cass. Dates are approximate.

BCNA continues with strong programs of outreach, advocacy, and research and monitoring to meet our mission.

Video of BCNA’s history (produced in 2015)

Banner Photo © C Cook

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