FORT COLLINS The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is shaping up.
At its monthly meeting Thursday in Fort Collins, the 14-member commission unanimously agreed to streamline its membership to a svelte 11 commissioners, pending approval by state legislators next session.
The recommendation will be presented as part of a second merger bill designed to iron out details of the union forged between the formerly independent Colorado State Parks and Colorado Division of Wildlife. A bill initially approving the merger passed last spring, combining two boards to create the current 14-member commission. The governor-appointed PWC sets regulations and policies for Colorado’s state parks wildlife programs.
The recommendation maintains representation from traditional user groups while expanding opportunities to attract those with a special expertise in relevant areas such as economics or marketing. It calls for three at-large members, two agricultural landowners or producers, two sportsmen or sportswomen, two with experience in outdoor recreation, one county commissioner and one member of a nonprofit, nonconsumptive conservation group. No more than six members may be from the same political party.
State Natural Areas. Three new State Natural Areas have been added to the Colorado Natural Areas Program. Two of the areas are in the southwest portion of the state and are already owned and managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The third is on the Eastern Plains.
According to Parks and Wildlife commissioners who approved the additions Thursday, all three properties meet the criteria of the program established in 1977 to conserve the ecosystems, species, geology and fossils that represent resources which are “uniquely Colorado.” The program enrolls only properties whose landowners support the protection of the resources on their properties.
The three properties are:
• The 2,529-acre Miramonte Natural Area located within the Dan Noble State Wildlife Area at Miramonte Reservoir in San Miguel County. Renowned for its excellent recreational opportunities and remarkably diverse rare plant habitats, the area also serves as an indicator of healthy sagebrush communities and provides some of the best habitat for the Gunnison sage grouse in the county.
• A portion of the Haviland Lake State Wildlife Area, north of Durango in La Plata County. The new Haviland Lake Natural Area consists of 125 acres and features plant communities common to the southern Rockies merging with Four Corners communities in an interesting and unique assemblage of species. Riparian shrub lands and robust wetland vegetation at the site provide habitat for sensitive wildlife species such as the osprey and the northern leopard frog.
• The 2,240-acre Arikaree River Natural Area in eastern Colorado north of Idalia. The area is part of the largest remaining naturally functioning Great Plains river system in the state. Several native and uncommon species of amphibians, fish and reptiles reside in the mature riparian corridor that includes high-quality native prairie and streamside plant communities. The area, owned by the Colorado Land Board, is a meeting ground for many bird species from the eastern and western United States and is one of the best birding areas in Colorado.
Important appointment. Chris Castilian was appointed PWC liaison to the State Trails Committee. The Recreational Trails Committee coordinates trail development projects with local governments and assists the PWC with the administration of a grant program that funds recreational trail projects across the state.
Commissioners also re- affirmed a former Parks Board policy establishing the roles and responsibilities of the Recreational Trails Committee and adopted several changes to the committee’s grant review process.
The grant program is a partnership among Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado Lottery, the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program and the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Program Fund.
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Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
