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Skeeters carrying West Nile virus are HERE!
Jul 11th
First mosquito pool tests positive for West Nile Virus in City of Boulder
The City of Boulder received notification today of the season’s first mosquito pool to test positive for West Nile Virus within city limits. The mosquito sample was pooled from three different traps that came from Tom Watson Park, Christensen Park and Stazio Ball Fields. The infected mosquitoes could have come from any of those sites, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are present at all three.
No human cases have been reported in Colorado so far this season; however, the city urges residents to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites and to drain standing water to prevent mosquito breeding sites.
Keep safe this summer and remember the four D’s:
1. Use insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
2. DRESS in long sleeves and pants.
3. Avoid the outdoors from DUSK until DAWN.
4. DRAIN standing water outside your home.
Mosquito activity this year has been lower than usual so far due to the dry conditions. However, the type of mosquitoes that have the ability to transmit West Nile Virus have been present in greater percentages earlier in the season than in previous years.
City residents can help minimize the spread of West Nile Virus by eliminating any potential breeding grounds from around their properties:
- Clean gutters regularly.
- Change water in bird baths every three days.
- Check and empty any outside items that collect standing water (flower pots, lawn ornaments and toys).
- Do not overwater lawns.
- Keep trash cans covered and clean.
For general information about West Nile Virus, visit Boulder County Public Health’s website or call the West Nile Virus Hotline at 877-462-2911 or the Boulder County Hotline at 303-441-1460.
CU study: Nitrogen damage to RMNP could become irreversible
Jul 10th
The emissions of nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere are being carried to remote areas of the park, altering sensitive ecosystems, said CU-Boulder Professor William Bowman, who directs CU-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station west of Boulder and who led the study. “The changes are subtle, but important,” he said. “They represent a first step in a series of changes which may be relatively irreversible.”
A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates air pollution in the form of nitrogen compounds emanating from power plants, automobiles and agriculture is changing the alpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The emissions of nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere are being carried to remote areas of the park, altering sensitive ecosystems, said CU-Boulder Professor William Bowman, who directs CU-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station west of Boulder and who led the study. “The changes are subtle, but important,” he said. “They represent a first step in a series of changes which may be relatively irreversible.”
In other regions of the world, higher amounts of nitrogen pollutants correlate with decreased biodiversity, acidified soils and dead stream organisms like trout, said Bowman. “There is evidence that indicates once these changes occur, they can be difficult if not impossible to reverse. It is best to recognize these early stages before the more harmful later stages happen.”
The study site was an alpine meadow roughly one mile east of Chapin Pass in the Mummy Range of Rocky Mountain National Park. Bowman and his team analyzed the plant communities and soils under ambient levels of nitrogen deposition and compared them to plots with added nitrogen to simulate the increasing atmospheric nitrogen pollution expected in the coming decades. The results indicated changes in plant abundances already were occurring under ambient conditions, but to date no changes in soils were detected.
During the course of the three-year study, rising levels of nitrogen in the soils correlated with large increases in a common species of sedge shown to flourish in other nitrogen addition studies. Bowman said the team anticipates that the diversity of vascular plant species will rise with increasing nitrogen deposition, then decrease with more rare species being excluded by competition from other plant species. “While the changes are relatively modest, they portend that other more environmentally adverse impacts may be on the horizon in Colorado’s alpine areas,” said Bowman.
A paper on the subject was published in the June issue of the Journal of Environmental Management. Co-authors on the study included John Murgel, a former CU-Boulder undergraduate student now completing graduate work at Colorado State University, and Tamara Blett and Ellen Porter of the Air Resources Division of the National Park Service in Lakewood, Colo. The study was funded by the National Park Service.
Previous studies by Bowman and others have shown vegetation changes and soil acidification has been occurring due to increasing nitrogen deposition at other alpine sites in Colorado, including Niwot Ridge. Niwot Ridge is a National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research site administered by CU-Boulder and located adjacent to the university’s Mountain Research Station located some 30 miles west of the city.
Given the projected population growth in Front Range cities in the greater Denver area and increasing agricultural development, nitrogen deposition is expected to increase steadily in Rocky Mountain National Park over the next several decades, said Bowman, a professor in CU-Boulder’s ecology and evolutionary biology department.
The high-elevation ecosystems of the park are a magnet for thousands of visitors each year who have opportunities to see plants and animals well adapted to the severe climate above treeline, said Bowman, but such ecosystems are the most sensitive to adverse impacts from air pollutants. Previous studies by other researchers have documented ongoing changes in the algae found in several of the Rocky Mountain National Park’s high elevation lakes due to nitrogen pollution, he said.
While the park is also a haven for fishermen hoping to catch trout in pristine waters, continued inputs of nitrogen pollutants are a hazard to the health of both trout and their food sources, said Bowman, also a fellow of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. It starts when the ability of the land plants and soils to take up the nitrogen is exceeded, causing soils to become acidified, he said.
Other parts of the Colorado Front Range have exhibited signs of acidification at the highest elevations, Bowman said. “Once this happens, soluble aluminum leaches from soils and begins to show up in streams and lakes. This aluminum is quite toxic to many aquatic animals,” he said.
“The take-home message is that the amount of nitrogen deposition reaching the tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park has already passed an important threshold and may lead to more serious environmental impacts,” said Bowman. “It’s not inconceivable that continued negative ecological impacts in the park due to nitrogen pollution could eventually impact tourism in Colorado.”
Officials from Environmental Defense and Trout Unlimited petitioned the State of Colorado and the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions of nitrogen pollution in 2004. This effort resulted in a 2007 plan to lower nitrogen emissions on a voluntary basis to reduce impacts to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Excel Energy’s recent switch to natural gas in some of its power plants is one of many steps toward limiting nitrogen emissions, said Bowman. Ongoing efforts by air quality managers and representatives from the Colorado agricultural industry are also working on management practices that would lower nitrogen emissions.
In other regions of the world, higher amounts of nitrogen pollutants correlate with decreased biodiversity, acidified soils and dead stream organisms like trout, said Bowman. “There is evidence that indicates once these changes occur, they can be difficult if not impossible to reverse. It is best to recognize these early stages before the more harmful later stages happen.”
The study site was an alpine meadow roughly one mile east of Chapin Pass in the Mummy Range of Rocky Mountain National Park. Bowman and his team analyzed the plant communities and soils under ambient levels of nitrogen deposition and compared them to plots with added nitrogen to simulate the increasing atmospheric nitrogen pollution expected in the coming decades. The results indicated changes in plant abundances already were occurring under ambient conditions, but to date no changes in soils were detected.
During the course of the three-year study, rising levels of nitrogen in the soils correlated with large increases in a common species of sedge shown to flourish in other nitrogen addition studies. Bowman said the team anticipates that the diversity of vascular plant species will rise with increasing nitrogen deposition, then decrease with more rare species being excluded by competition from other plant species. “While the changes are relatively modest, they portend that other more environmentally adverse impacts may be on the horizon in Colorado’s alpine areas,” said Bowman.
A paper on the subject was published in the June issue of the Journal of Environmental Management. Co-authors on the study included John Murgel, a former CU-Boulder undergraduate student now completing graduate work at Colorado State University, and Tamara Blett and Ellen Porter of the Air Resources Division of the National Park Service in Lakewood, Colo. The study was funded by the National Park Service.
Previous studies by Bowman and others have shown vegetation changes and soil acidification has been occurring due to increasing nitrogen deposition at other alpine sites in Colorado, including Niwot Ridge. Niwot Ridge is a National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research site administered by CU-Boulder and located adjacent to the university’s Mountain Research Station located some 30 miles west of the city.
Given the projected population growth in Front Range cities in the greater Denver area and increasing agricultural development, nitrogen deposition is expected to increase steadily in Rocky Mountain National Park over the next several decades, said Bowman, a professor in CU-Boulder’s ecology and evolutionary biology department.
The high-elevation ecosystems of the park are a magnet for thousands of visitors each year who have opportunities to see plants and animals well adapted to the severe climate above treeline, said Bowman, but such ecosystems are the most sensitive to adverse impacts from air pollutants. Previous studies by other researchers have documented ongoing changes in the algae found in several of the Rocky Mountain National Park’s high elevation lakes due to nitrogen pollution, he said.
While the park is also a haven for fishermen hoping to catch trout in pristine waters, continued inputs of nitrogen pollutants are a hazard to the health of both trout and their food sources, said Bowman, also a fellow of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. It starts when the ability of the land plants and soils to take up the nitrogen is exceeded, causing soils to become acidified, he said.
Other parts of the Colorado Front Range have exhibited signs of acidification at the highest elevations, Bowman said. “Once this happens, soluble aluminum leaches from soils and begins to show up in streams and lakes. This aluminum is quite toxic to many aquatic animals,” he said.
“The take-home message is that the amount of nitrogen deposition reaching the tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park has already passed an important threshold and may lead to more serious environmental impacts,” said Bowman. “It’s not inconceivable that continued negative ecological impacts in the park due to nitrogen pollution could eventually impact tourism in Colorado.”
Officials from Environmental Defense and Trout Unlimited petitioned the State of Colorado and the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions of nitrogen pollution in 2004. This effort resulted in a 2007 plan to lower nitrogen emissions on a voluntary basis to reduce impacts to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Excel Energy’s recent switch to natural gas in some of its power plants is one of many steps toward limiting nitrogen emissions, said Bowman. Ongoing efforts by air quality managers and representatives from the Colorado agricultural industry are also working on management practices that would lower nitrogen emissions.
Bear Canyon Trail re-opens; other Flagstaff Fire closures remain
Jul 7th
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks officials today announced the re-opening of the Bear Canyon Trail following last week’s fire closure. Bear Canyon Trail above west of the Mesa Trail will be open, effective immediately, up to where hikers can connect to Green Mountain via the Green-Bear Trail. Travel is limited to on-trail only. Fern Canyon, Bear Peak West Ridge and Shadow Canyon trails remain closed.
Because much of the area that burned is on very steep slopes, contained very large trees, and was largely inaccessible to fire crews, some areas of active fire may continue to smolder for some time. Dangerous conditions continue to exist, especially along the eastern edge of the fire and in Fern and Shadow canyons.
“We had a spot fire in upper Shadow Canyon,” Stone said, “and smoldering trees can topple over and ignite at any time. Burning logs and debris can roll downhill on such steep slopes and start new fires. So we still have to be somewhat cautious about opening all of the area around the fire even though these areas may not actually have burned.”
Open Space and Fire Department staff will continue to assess the fire potential and risks to the public over the next few weeks. The city will strive to strike a reasonable balance between risk and access to these popular natural areas.
A map of the continued closures is attached to this release.
For information, visit www.osmp.org or call 303-441-3440.