For Immediate Release – Monday Aug 8, 2016 Coalition Backing Great Horned Owl Preserve is Shocked and Dismayed by City-County Draft Recommendation Key Owl Habitat Threatened by Boulder County Bulldozers Photo Credit: Alexa Boyes. See media kit at: http://boulderowlpreserve.org/mediakit/ (Boulder, Colorado) A coalition of community, business, outdoor and spiritual groups has been working to create the Boulder Great Horned Owl Preserve to protect Colorado’s most famous owl family. Open space advocates and community members that have been in discussion with Boulder County on creation of a Greater Twin Lakes Open Space are angry and upset by the just announced draft recommendation that calls for as many as 280 condo or apartment units to be built on key owl habitat. Ken Beitel, spokesperson for the Owl Preserve explains “Boulder County and City of Boulder planning staff has betrayed our community by recommending the bull dozing of the 20 acre owl hunting meadows. We are encouraging all people in Boulder who love owls and open space to express their anger at tonight’s Boulder County open house and call for an open space land use designation. There is no reason to tear up the Owl Hunting Meadow - alternate locations have been identified for the proposed development that would better serve people and not impact critical wildlife habitat.” Concerned citizens can attend the City of Boulder and Boulder County open house on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, 5 to 7 p.m. Calvary Bible Church 3245 Kalmia Ave, Boulder, Colorado to protect the Twin Lakes owl hunting meadows. Media interviews will be available at 5:30pm. With announcement of the draft land-use change the owls face an impending threat: construction bulldozers, as the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) gears up to transform the owl hunting meadow into dense urban housing—despite the vast opposition of the surrounding Gunbarrel community, wildlife photographers, school children and Coloradans who love the Great Horned owls at Twin Lakes. The county’s own Twin Lakes Open Space Management Plan, speaks to the area’s high wildlife value. Boulder County is also violating its own Parks and Open Space acquisition criteria by seeking to develop land adjacent to existing open space. “The Twin Lakes Owls are a gift to the people of Colorado. It’s amazing to see young children gazing wide-eyed at the baby owls, and to see the smiles on everyone’s faces,” says Ken Beitel. “If we can successfully fight off Boulder Country from destroying the owl hunting meadow, the Great Horned Owl Preserve will be a wonderful place for owls and people for decades to come.” More than 2,000 people have already signed a petition to create the Owl Preserve at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org -30- Background Information For nearly three decades, great horned owls have nested in a huge cottonwood tree near the Twin Lakes in northeast Boulder. Thousands of visitors from all over Colorado come each year to see the owl babies peering out from their nest and making their first flights. The parent owls regularly swoop over the 20-acre Owl Hunting Meadow, just south of the nesting tree, to bring back a morsel for the downy owlets. Dozens of species live on or use these meadows, including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, geese and osprey, as well as red foxes, coyotes, mink, raccoons, rabbits, bats and other mammals. Ken Beitel, a spokesperson for the Owl Preserve is hopeful: “Together, City Council and the County have an opportunity to protect a remarkable place for people and owls." Supporters of the Great Horned Owl Preserve to Date • Boulder Owl Preserve – www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org • Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) - http://tlag.org • Sacred House - http://www.sacredhouse.org/ • Wildlands Defense - http://wildlandsdefense.org • ProTrails.com – www.ProTrails.com • Boulder Colorado Hiking and Outdoor Club (1,600 members, approved by steering committee) Media Kit High-resolution owl and owl baby photos/medium-resolution video are available for print, TV display and web publication: http://boulderowlpreserve.org/mediakit/ Media Contact: Ken J. Beitel - spokesperson, Boulder Great Horned Owl Preserve.org email: info@BoulderOwlPreserve.org m: 720 436 2465 web: www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org Interview Opportunities Interviews will be available via phone or on location at the Boulder County – City of Boulder open house at 5:30pm. Please arrange interview in advance via the above contact information. Draft development recommendation will be unveiled Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, 5 to 7 p.m. Calvary Bible Church 3245 Kalmia Ave, Boulder, Colorado.