Horticulture and Forestry Advisory Board 1999 & PRIOR

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ERO Resources Corp. 1842 Clarkson Street Denver, CO 80218 (303) 830 -1188 Fax: 830 -1199 Denver • Boise www.eroresources.com ero @eroresources.corn Brad Chronowski Parks and Recreation Department City of Louisville 749 Main Street Louisville, CO 80027 RE: Parcel at McCaslin Boulevard and South Boulder Road December 8, 1999 Mr. Chronowski: Thank you for taking time to meet with me on November 15, 1999 at the parcel at the southwest corner of the intersection of McCaslin Boulevard and South Boulder Road. As we discussed at the site, the City of Louisville is in the process of designing an entry feature proposed for the northeast corner of the property. During the planning and design process, the City was made aware of the presence of an undisturbed native grassland community. The City asked ERO Resources to assess the quality of the community and to determine any adverse impacts that may result from development on and adjacent to the parcel. A native midgrass prairie with diverse plant species covers most of the City's property. Species include blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), fringed sage (Artemisia frigida), spotted gayfeather (Liatris punctata), Great Plains yucca (Yucca glauca), prickly poppy (Argemone polyanthemos), sand lily (Leucocrinum montanum), and larkspur (Delphinium virescens). Two species, narrowleaf beardstongue (Penstemon angustifolius) and white - stemed evening primrose (Oenothera albicaulis) are unusual because they are infrequently found in Boulder County. Historically, this plant community was common along the outwash mesas of the Front Range. The community is associated with dry areas of gravely /sandy soil. In this case, the parcel is directly over a shallow segment of Fox Hill sandstone. As agricultural use in the region increased, tilling for crops and grazing by cattle has reduced the extent of this community type. This parcel has never been plowed and appears not to have been over grazed. To date, even with current levels of development, the native plant community has remained fairly intact and does not have extensive infestations of weeds. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and Russian thistle (Salsola australis) are two annual weedy species . that are present in low density in the north half of the parcel and present in higher densities to the south. Introduction of these species may have occurred following disturbance in the parcel just to the south. I: \crn \3S)I)hIojccis\i?I m;n 1h;; in cr 12- 7- 99.iluc C o n s u l t a n t s in N a t u r a l , R e s o u r c e s a n d t h e E n v i r o n m e n t