Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
Boulder County Youth Corps now accepting applications
Jan 31st
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Youth Corps is now accepting applications for summer jobs from residents ages 14-17 and from adults for team leader positions. Boulder County is especially in need of female corps members and leaders.
The deadline to submit youth applications is Friday, March 25. Other positions are open until filled.
The Youth Corps will hire up to 165 teenagers to work 30 hours per week, Monday through Thursday, from June 13 to Aug. 3 on a variety of community service projects. Team leaders will be employed from May 31 to Aug. 5 to work up to 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Projects include activities such as forest thinning, trail building, fence construction, historic restoration and landscaping. Youth Corps teams work in unincorporated Boulder County as well as in Lafayette, Longmont and Superior.
Applications are available online at www.BoulderCounty.org/YouthCorps. Applications can also be picked up at counseling offices in Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley schools; city and town personnel offices; most local recreation and youth centers and libraries; and the county human resources department at 2025 14th St. in Boulder.
This year, corps members will earn a starting wage of $7.36 per hour, with the possibility of earning a $100 bonus at the end of the program based on merit and strong attendance. Teens who have worked for the corps in past years can earn up to $7.86 per hour. In addition, corps members are eligible for reimbursement for the purchase of work boots and gloves. RTD bus passes for the purpose of traveling to and from centralized work meeting places may be subsidized.
Team leaders must be high school graduates and at least 21 years old with two years or more of college coursework. Assistant team leaders must be high school graduates and at least 18 years old, among other qualifications. A list of full qualifications is available online at www.BoulderCounty.org/YouthCorps. Team leaders start at $13 per hour and Assistant team leaders at $11 per hour.
The Youth Corps offers one of the best first-job opportunities available in Boulder County. Teams have completed projects such as building the new Benjamin Loop Trail at Betasso Preserve and building picnic table pads on open space. Other projects have included historic restoration of buildings, construction and repair of fencing, trail maintenance, removal of Russian olive trees and noxious weeds, replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescents, landscaping and forest thinning projects.
For more information, visit www.BoulderCounty.org/YouthCorps or contact Youth Corps program manager Judy Wolfe at jwolfe@bouldercounty.org or 303-678-6104.
-BoulderCounty
Seasonal raptor closures start Feb. 1
Jan 28th
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department is temporarily closing the following areas in order to protect nesting and roosting raptors. The closures will begin Tuesday, Feb. 1, and run through July 31:
Lefthand Canyon Palisades at the intersection of Lefthand Canyon Drive and Olde Stage Road (Buckingham picnic area remains open);
Mount Sanitas, First Buttress, accessible from the Mount Sanitas trailhead, .5 miles west of Fourth Street and Mapleton Avenue (There are no closures to the bouldering areas along the ridge);
Gregory Canyon Amphitheater, including the Amphitheater Express Trail and the 3rd Pinnacle (The Amphitheater Trail to Saddle Rock will remain open);
Third Flatiron, including the East and West Ironing Boards, Queen Anne’s Head and Jaws, and WC Pinnacle and all descent routes accessible from Chautauqua trailhead, 900 Baseline Road;
Skunk Canyon, including Ridge 2, 3 and 4, the Aechean Pronouncement, the Dreadnaught, the North Ridge and the entirety of Sacred Cliffs, accessible from NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road;
The rock formation known as the Front Porch;
Bear Creek Spire, accessible from the NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road;
Fern Canyon, including the Goose, the Goose Eggs, the East Ridge and Nebel Horn, accessible from the NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road (The designated Fern Canyon hiking trail will remain open);
Shadow Canyon and the Matron, 1.7 miles west of Highway 93 on Eldorado Springs Drive. (The designated Shadow Canyon hiking trail will remain open, and the Maiden remains open and accessible from the east);
The entire Mickey Mouse wall, accessible from OSMP Lindsay property (This closure will be spatially expanded because of recent activity of Golden Eagles, Prairie Falcons, and Peregrine Falcons in the area);
The north side of Flagstaff Summit accessible from Flagstaff Summit parking area, 3.4 miles up Flagstaff Road and .5 miles up Flagstaff Summit Road;
Diamond Head and SoBo Buttress, west of Shadow Canyon;
The rock formation known as The Sphinx.
Because of the high-quality cliff habitat and rich food resources on OSMP lands, as well as community cooperation to protect nesting sites, the closed areas are important to the region for nesting falcons and eagles.
The City of Boulder has been monitoring raptor nesting and roosting areas since 1984. Sites are monitored by OSMP volunteers and staff. Trespass violations can result in a summons with penalties of up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. In addition to enforcement, OSMP relies heavily on the public to respect the closures, and the cooperation of visitors to these areas is greatly appreciated.
As part of OSMP’s adaptive management framework, closures may be lifted prior to July 31 if no raptor activity is observed at any of these sites.
For more information on OSMP raptor closures, including maps of the affected areas, visit www.osmp.org or call 303-441-3440.
Fourmile Canyon Fire meeting with state insurance representatives set for Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Jan 27th
Boulder County, Colo – In its continuing efforts to help homeowners who lost a home or structure in the Fourmile Canyon fire navigate through the insurance claim process, Boulder County has set up a meeting for fire survivors with Colorado Interim Insurance Commissioner John J. Postolowski on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in Boulder.
The meeting will include time for impacted residents to share their experiences working with their insurance providers and to allow the state insurance commissioner and staff to address those issues and outline assistance available from the state.
Who should attend: Fourmile Canyon Fire survivors
Who will present: State of Colorado Interim Insurance Commissioner John Postolowski and staff from the state Division of Insurance
When: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 2
Where: Boulder County Courthouse, Commissioners’ Hearing Room, 3rd floor, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder
Tentative Agenda:
• Fire survivors will be invited to share their experiences with their insurance providers in order for the commissioner and staff to better understand the challenges people are facing
• Division of Insurance staff will explain how they can be of service and answer questions
• At the end, there will be time for people to speak with the Division of Insurance staff about their individual situations
State Representative Claire Levy of Boulder has been instrumental in getting this meeting scheduled and will also be attending along with other state and federal legislators or their staff representatives.
For more information about Boulder County’s recovery efforts working with residents of the Fourmile Canyon Fire area, visit www.bouldercounty.org/fourmilefire or contact Garry Sanfacon at 720-564-2642 or gsanfacon@bouldercounty.org.
–
