The City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department invites community members to view a project webmap to learn about a range of trail, ecological and agricultural projects the department is planning to conduct in 2022.
The City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department invites community members to view a project web map to learn about a range of trail, ecological and agricultural projects the department is planning to conduct in 2022.
The 2022 project web map features many upcoming projects, including work to:
- Thin trees west of Boulder to address wildfire risks on open space, which helps to provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and support more diverse vegetation communities.
- Use cattle to conduct targeted grazing of tall oatgrass, an invasive grass that spreads rapidly, threatens unique plant communities and can fuel wildfires.
- Regenerate degraded irrigated agricultural fields, suppress noxious weeds and restore native wetland plant communities in wetland areas.
- Improve stream and wetland areas – which provide critical habitat for various wildlife species – by removing invasive weeds and non-native trees.
- Restore habitats for native amphibians – including the Northern Leopard frog, a species Colorado Parks and Wildlife has designated a “species of greatest conservation need.”
- Leverage the generosity of volunteers to collect native plant seeds, which play a critical role in supporting ongoing OSMP ecological restoration projects.
OSMP’s Master Plan has identified trail maintenance as a key departmental priority. The 2022 project web map features many upcoming trail projects – with several focusing on older “legacy” mountain trails, which are often steep, prone to erosion and require ongoing maintenance:
- Royal Arch Trail
- Mount Sanitas Trail
- 1st/2nd Flatiron
- Bear Canyon Trail
- Flatirons Loop
- Chautauqua Trail
- Mallory Cave
Learn more about OSMP’s trail program. Visitors can also review significant 2022 trail closures online.
Are you interested in updates about Boulder trails, open space community projects and upcoming nature programs? Sign up for “Field Notes," our open space e-newsletter, or follow @boulderosmp on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.