Health, Fitness & Medical
Health, Wellness, Fitness, Medical News local to Boulder County Colorado To advertise please call 303-447-8531
Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks begins seasonal cliff-nesting raptor closures
Jan 30th
Each year, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department temporarily closes areas to the public in order to protect nesting and roosting raptors. The following areas and formations will be closed from Feb. 1 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, a half mile west of Fourth Street and Mapleton Avenue (no closures to the bouldering areas along the ridge; Mount Sanitas trail will remain open);
- Gregory Canyon Amphitheater, including the Amphitheater Express Trail and the 3rd Pinnacle (the Amphitheater Trail to Saddle Rock will remain open);
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- Third Flatiron, including the East and West Ironing Boards, Queen Anne’s Head and Jaws, and WC Pinnacle, accessible from Chautauqua trailhead;
- Flagstaff Mountain: the north side of Flagstaff Mountain will be closed (the Boy Scout Trail will remain open);
- Skunk Canyon, including Ridges 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 Back Porch and The Box, accessible from the NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road;
- Bear Creek Spire, accessible from the NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road;
- Fern Canyon, 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, accessible from the South Mesa Trailhead (the Maiden will remain open and accessible from the east; the designated Shadow Canyon hiking trail will re-open in 2013 following post-fire maintenance);
- The Sphinx, accessible from the NCAR trailhead at the west end of Table Mesa Road;
- Diamond Head and SoBo Buttress, west of Shadow Canyon, accessible from South Mesa Trailhead (South Boulder Peak Trail will remain open);
- The entire Mickey Mouse wall, accessible from the Goshawk Ridge Trail.
High-quality cliff habitat and rich food resources on OSMP lands, as well as community cooperation in protecting nesting sites, sustains the mountain backdrop as a regionally important area for nesting falcons and golden eagles. OSMP volunteers and staff have been monitoring raptor nesting and roosting areas since 1984, and the program is an integral part of efforts to protect the species and adaptively manage the closures.
Trespassing violations can result in a summons with penalties up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. OSMP relies heavily on the public to respect the closures, and the cooperation of visitors to these areas is greatly appreciated. Closures may be lifted early, if no raptor activity is observed at these sites.
Some modifications have occurred to the Flagstaff and The Sphinx raptor closures. Please visit Open Space and Mountain Parks’ website at www.osmp.org for detailed maps and up-to-date information on raptor closures or call 303-441-3440.
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Boulder County Commissioners extend moratorium on oil & gas development
Jan 24th
Boulder County, Colo. – Tonight, following a public hearing on recently-adopted regulations for oil and gas development in unincorporated Boulder County, the County Commissioners voted unanimously to extend a temporary moratorium on new oil and gas drilling applications (currently set to end on Feb. 4) until June 10, 2013, and to further assess fees relative to the land use and transportation impacts of local oil and gas operations.
Expressing both a desire to see more work around developing renewable energy options for Boulder County and seeking support from county residents to take their concerns about oil and gas development to state legislators who are currently considering new state rules for drilling operations, the County Commissioners acknowledged that while they don’t think they can go far enough to satisfy all constituent concerns, they are doing everything they can to make sure “we have the most comprehensive and restrictive regulations around oil and gas drilling in the State of Colorado.“
County staff had requested an extension of the Temporary Moratorium on Boulder County’s Processing of Applications for Oil and Gas Development in order to develop a plan to implement the regulations adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in December 2012. Due to the complicated nature of the new restrictions, requirements, standards and conditions that replaced 19-year-old rules for how oil and gas development can occur on unincorporated lands, staff had asked for adequate time to create an Implementation Work Plan.
County staff also presented information from the Oil & Gas Roadway Impact Study to seek direction from the County Commissioners on how to ensure impacts of oil and gas development on the public transportation system are mitigated and the cost of such mitigation is fairly and equitably allocated. Actual fees were not considered for adoption at the hearing, but the Commissioners asked staff to come back in two to three months with a proposal for the maximum legally-defensible fees allowable to mitigate local impacts or an alternate mechanism to recover costs from industry’s impact on the county transportation system.
Staff estimated – and County Commissioners affirmed – that in order to prepare for processing of new drilling and well operation applications, four additional months were necessary. The major components of the Implementation Work Plan will include:
· Development of RFQ/RFP and hiring of consultants / outside expertise
· Staff trainings
· Coordination with involved departments and agencies
· Preparation of application materials, handouts, and public information including website
· Development and adoption of planning and permit fees
· Inspection schedules
· Updating internal databases and tracking systems
· Coordination with Industry on submission of applications
· Coordination with the COGCC to harmonize new State rules with County regulations
For more information about the county’s role in oil and gas development, visit the county’s Oil and Gas Development webpage or contact Jim Webster at 720-564-2600 or jbwebster@bouldercounty.org.
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CU : Some good news for doggie lovers
Dec 11th
clinical study to treat canine pain
A University of Colorado Boulder professor and her biomedical spinoff company Xalud Therapeutics Inc. of San Francisco are teaming up with a Front Range veterinarian to conduct a clinical study targeting an effective treatment for dogs suffering from chronic pain.
Distinguished Professor Linda Watkins of CU-Boulder’s psychology and neuroscience department said the study involves treating ailing dogs with a gene therapy using Interleukin-10, or IL-10, a protein and anti-inflammatory that both dogs and humans produce naturally. Watkins is working with veterinarian Robert Landry of Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital and Pain Management Center in Lafayette, who will be treating canine patients suffering from chronic and painful conditions, some of which already are being treated with various other medications with limited success.
Animals perceive and experience several levels of pain that are similar to humans, and chronic pain can be debilitating and also shorten the lives of pets, said Landry, one of only a handful of credentialed American Academy of Pain Management practitioners in Colorado. Landry currently is seeking Denver-Boulder area pet owners who have dogs suffering from chronic pain and who might be interested in participating in the study, which is free.
The new study is driven by research spearheaded by Watkins indicating a type of cell known as glial cells found in the nervous system of mammals plays a key role in pain. Under normal conditions, glial cells act as central nervous system “housekeepers,” cleaning up cellular debris and providing support for neurons, said Watkins. But glial cells also can play a pivotal role in pain enhancement by exciting neurons that both transmit pain signals and release a host of chemical compounds that cause problems like chronic neuropathic pain and other medical issues.
The team will use Xalud’s lead product candidate, XT-101, a gene therapy that harnesses the power of the potent anti-inflammatory IL-10 to normalize glial activity and eliminate neuropathic pain for up to 90 days with a single injection.
The gene therapy based on IL-10 has a number of advantages, including suppressing glial activity in the spinal cord, stimulating tissue regeneration and growth, decreasing the production of pro-inflammatory substances and increasing the production of anti-inflammatory substances, Watkins said. Landry and Watkins also have been working with the American Kennel Club on potential funding for additional clinical studies involving the treatment of chronic pain in dogs, said Watkins.
“We have already tested this new therapy in two pet dogs, and both have had remarkable reversals of their pain for long durations after a single injection of the therapeutic,” she said. “Our early peek at the potential of this therapeutic treatment in dogs shows essentially the same positive effects we have seen in laboratory rats used in our studies that have been treated with the therapy.”
Watkins said demonstrating the efficacy and safety of the new gene therapy in a second species of mammal is important in terms of moving it forward to eventually meet FDA regulations for human clinical trials.
In addition to studying what triggers glial cells to become activated and begin releasing pain-enhancing substances and ways to control chronic pain, Watkins and her research team recently discovered that clinically prescribed opioids also activate glial cells and cause them to release pain-enhancing substances. “Our ultimate goal is to find a means by which clinical pain control can be improved so as to relieve human suffering,” she said.
To contact Landry about possible participation in the study by family dogs suffering chronic pain and that might benefit from the experimental treatment, call the Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital at 303-665-4852.
For more information on CU-Boulder’s psychology and neuroscience department visit http://psych-www.colorado.edu/. For more information on Xalud Therapeutics Inc. visit http://www.xaludthera.com/. For more information on Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital visit http://www.mountainridgevet.com/.
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