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Trail planners try to jump ahead of the mouse
When outdoor recreationists look for a good trail, creekside paths are usually a favorite because of the chance to see some wildlife.
However, just because the Cherry Creek Trail is being built for recreational use does not mean it is excluded from the Endangered Species Act.
By By: Christine McManus
When outdoor recreationists look for a good trail, creekside paths are usually a favorite because of the chance to see some wildlife.
However, just because the Cherry Creek Trail is being built for recreational use does not mean it is excluded from the Endangered Species Act.
The existence of a threatened species along the developing Cherry Creek Trail has put a halt to its construction. Plans call for the trail eventually to extend 24 miles along the creek from Castlewood Canyon State Park in eastern Douglas County, up to Cherry Creek Reservoir.
Douglas County parks director Ron Benson does not want to wait two years for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service threatened-species permit to finish constructing a portion of the Cherry Creek Trail.
Benson will file for a comparatively fast-track permit from the federal government to build the rest of the trail in the habitat of the threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.
The mouse was listed, not as endangered but as threatened, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998. The mouse, which has a longer-than-usual tail and legs for jumping, can live only beside high plains creekbeds. It is considered a "keystone species" because biologists say its survival is good indication of the health of rare riparian ecosystems on the high plains of North America.
Douglas County already is working on a countywide plan that would exempt certain properties from the Endangered Species Act regulations. The process will take a minimum of two years to get a federal permit for the entire county.
The plan and permit would allow construction in some habitats.
Without the permit, work is not allowed within 300 feet of the center of the creek. Much of the trail was built before the mouse was listed, within 50 feet of the creek.
Franktown resident Ron Kmieciak wrote a letter about the matter to county administrator Doug DeBord. Kmieciak's property backs up to the Cherry Creek and trail.
"I am hoping, as [are] many of my neighbors, that ... a sincere and genuine effort is being made by the county to change the present location of the trail to protect this last undisturbed pristine area left along the creek bottom from Parker to the Castlewood Canyon State Park," Kmieciak said.
The Division of Wildlife classified the 1.6-mile portion where the mouse was found as prime habitat. Benson said that topography and an agreement with McLain Pit prohibit him from building the trail outside the 300-foot boundary.
By summer, Benson hopes to have fish and wildlife service approval to finish the 1.6-mile portion near Castlewood Canyon this year. Two other portions of the trail are delayed because of property acquisition issues.
"The parks advisory board would love to have this built tomorrow," Benson said. "Trail management is more important than placement as far as conservation is concerned. People like to be close to the creek."
By By: Christine McManus
When outdoor recreationists look for a good trail, creekside paths are usually a favorite because of the chance to see some wildlife.
However, just because the Cherry Creek Trail is being built for recreational use does not mean it is excluded from the Endangered Species Act.
The existence of a threatened species along the developing Cherry Creek Trail has put a halt to its construction. Plans call for the trail eventually to extend 24 miles along the creek from Castlewood Canyon State Park in eastern Douglas County, up to Cherry Creek Reservoir.
Douglas County parks director Ron Benson does not want to wait two years for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service threatened-species permit to finish constructing a portion of the Cherry Creek Trail.
Benson will file for a comparatively fast-track permit from the federal government to build the rest of the trail in the habitat of the threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.
The mouse was listed, not as endangered but as threatened, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998. The mouse, which has a longer-than-usual tail and legs for jumping, can live only beside high plains creekbeds. It is considered a "keystone species" because biologists say its survival is good indication of the health of rare riparian ecosystems on the high plains of North America.
Douglas County already is working on a countywide plan that would exempt certain properties from the Endangered Species Act regulations. The process will take a minimum of two years to get a federal permit for the entire county.
The plan and permit would allow construction in some habitats.
Without the permit, work is not allowed within 300 feet of the center of the creek. Much of the trail was built before the mouse was listed, within 50 feet of the creek.
Franktown resident Ron Kmieciak wrote a letter about the matter to county administrator Doug DeBord. Kmieciak's property backs up to the Cherry Creek and trail.
"I am hoping, as [are] many of my neighbors, that ... a sincere and genuine effort is being made by the county to change the present location of the trail to protect this last undisturbed pristine area left along the creek bottom from Parker to the Castlewood Canyon State Park," Kmieciak said.
The Division of Wildlife classified the 1.6-mile portion where the mouse was found as prime habitat. Benson said that topography and an agreement with McLain Pit prohibit him from building the trail outside the 300-foot boundary.
By summer, Benson hopes to have fish and wildlife service approval to finish the 1.6-mile portion near Castlewood Canyon this year. Two other portions of the trail are delayed because of property acquisition issues.
"The parks advisory board would love to have this built tomorrow," Benson said. "Trail management is more important than placement as far as conservation is concerned. People like to be close to the creek."
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