City Council Minutes 2000 09 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting September 19, 2000 Page 19. o (referred to as Entry West and Entry East colonies in the report) be relocated to the Davidson Mesa colony. In the short-term, the colony on the hillside of Via Appia (referred to as Fire Station #2 colony in the report) should be left alone until the colony on the St. Louis Parish property across the street is dealt with. The task force and board members feel the Via Appia colony will only be repopulated once the existing prairie dogs are removed. Create a long-term management plan for prairie dogs that include the use of all open space lands owned jointly with the County. The City should consider becoming part of the "Conservation Agreement with Assurances" that Boulder County and the City of Boulder are currently drafting with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Such an agreement would require the City meet certain management guidelines for the preservation of the species, but would provide more surety, and may allow some leniency from federal regulations if the prairie dog is listed as an endangered species. Davidson opened the public hearing. PUBLIC COMMENT Suzanne H. Smith, 902 Grove Drive, Louisville, CO stated that her property abuts to the City owned open space, where there is a prairie dog population. She noted that five years ago it did not seem like the prairie dog population was out of control, however, at this time, it is out of control. She stated that prairie dogs are burrowing under fences and entering private property. She stated that prairie dogs enter her front yard and she has tried everything to keep them away, including dog hair and blood meal. Some of it has worked, but they have still eaten all of her flowers. She asked for options other than what was provided in the report. Annelise Cummings, 795 W. Pinyon Way, Louisville, CO thanked the Urban Wildlife Task Force, the Open Space Advisory Board for their work and the City for providing the biologist's report. She stated that the work on the project is not done and that the City needs to evaluate all its property to determine the status of prairie dogs, prior to making any permanent decision. She stated that one of the keys would be working with the County to insure that there is a healthy, sustainable prairie dog population. She reviewed that a critical ele~nent of the plan is to designate an area as wildlife habitat. She felt that Louisville needs to develop a comprehensive plan before taking any action that would affect the prairie dog colonies. Bob Muckle, 1101 Lincoln Avenue, Louisville, CO; spoke on behalf of wife, who wished to express her thanks to the Council for the prairie dog study and the survey on the open 19