Boulder officials are considering buying a 243-acre parcel to block development on what they say would be the most ecologically valuable land in the city’s open space system.
The $5 million deal would involve the city’s Open Space and Mountain Parks department exercising a long-standing right of first refusal on the Windhover Ranch property, one mile north of Valmont Road and a half-mile east of 75th Street in Boulder County.
The City Council will be asked Tuesday night whether to approve the deal.
City open space officials say the land — an open prairie field with rare white rock formations at its north end — needs protection because of its rich geology and biodiversity. They say the property is home to a pair of bald eagles that have nested at the site since 2002, tall prairie grasses, four rare species of ants, a rare bee species and six-lined racerunner lizards, and its geological features include Fox Hills sandstone.
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