Special Invitation to tomorrow's "Owls and Open Space" Concert Please come and enjoy the evening and help save the Twin Lakes Owls! Click here for info on the free out door concert and to RSVP Bring a lawn chair and your family and friends! https://www.meetup.com/BoulderOwlPreserve/events/233387017/ Best - Ken Beitel, from the proposed Twin Lakes Owl Preserve m: 720 436 2465 For Immediate Release – Thurs Aug 25, 2016 Boulder County Warns Owl Advocates: Stay Off Contested Lands (Boulder, Colorado) The dispute over the future of the proposed Twin Lakes Owl Preserve got even hotter with Boulder County issuing a warning to a coalition of community, outdoor and faith based groups to not hold a concert celebrating open space and owls on the 20 acre meadow adjacent to Twin Lakes. Known to the local community as the “owl hunting meadow” the area proposed for protection is also a wildlife connecting corridor that joins Twin Lakes to the Walden Ponds Wildlife Habitat. The warning from Boulder County was issued a few hours after County Commissioners and Boulder City Council were invited to attend the community held “Owls and Open Space” Concert scheduled for Friday Aug 26, at 6:30pm. “During the call, Boulder Country representative Division Director Norrie Boyd talked about how construction of up to 280 apartment units will enhance the wildlife habitat value of the open space,” explains Ken Beitel, Chair of Wilderness Conservation for the Owl Preserve, “In reality, Colorado’s most famous owls who have lived at Twin Lakes for more than three decades will likely abandon the area if the County Commissioners vote to bulldoze the owl hunting meadow.” Threatened with trespass charges, the coalition working to protect the wildland area has moved the “Owls and Open Space” Concert to a new location in the community next to Twin Lakes and the proposed owl preserve. The updated location is available at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org In addition to owls, the proposed preserve is home to many wildlife species including great blue heron, tiger salamanders, and western painted turtles. The last opportunity for public comment on whether the Commissioners should protect the open space area from development is at a county meeting the evening of Tuesday August, 30. Wildlife studies that had been scheduled to conclude prior to the start of the concert were cited as the reason for the trespass warning. -30- Media Contact: Ken J. Beitel – Chair of Wilderness Conservation, Twin Lakes Owl Preserve email: info@BoulderOwlPreserve.org mobile: 720 436 2465 web: www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org To Attend the “Owls and Open Space” Concert at Twin Lakes Date: Friday, Aug 26 6:30pm to 9pm Location: adjacent to The Twin Lakes Owl Preserve 4733 Tally Ho Court, Gunbarrel, Colorado (north Boulder area) Parking is available along the Twin Lakes road Bring: A lawn chair and a flashlight as the concert concludes after dusk Optional RSVP at: www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org Boulder singer/songwriter Celia Gary, nature musician Earl Correy and international concert pianist Sailing Simon will perform at the free concert that aims to benefit the survival of owls at Twin Lakes. A narrated owl slide show on a large outdoor screen will also reveal the majestic beauty of these bird of prey. To Provide Public Comment at the Final Boulder County Meeting on the Future of the Owl Preserve Open Space and the Twin Lakes Owls Date: Tuesday, Aug 30 - Meeting starts at 4pm and will last at least to 8pm. People can arrive while the meeting is in progress and speak for two minutes if desired. Signing up to speak in advance is recommended at: www.tlag.org/august-30th-bvcp-meeting Location: Boulder County Commission Hearing Room, 3rd Floor, Boulder County Courthouse 1325 Pearl St., Boulder, CO Background Information The county’s own Twin Lakes Open Space Management Plan, speaks to the high wildlife value of the Twin Lakes area. More than 2,300 people have already signed a petition to create the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org For nearly three decades, great horned owls have nested in a huge cottonwood tree near the Twin Lakes in northeast Boulder. Tens of 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 feed their family. 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. Musician Earl Correy, one of three artists who will be playing at the Friday night concert, has composed a song and music video titled “Owls of the Midnight Moon” - a tribute to the owls that call Twin Lakes home. Click here to view the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2gzKJKBXd4 Supporters of the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve to Date · Twin Lakes Owl Preserve – www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org · Twin Lakes Action Group (TLAG) - http://tlag.org · Sacred House - http://www.sacredhouse.org · Wildlands Defense - http://wildlandsdefense.org · Boulder Neighborhood Alliance (BNA) http://boulderna.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 – Chair of Wilderness Conservation, Twin Lakes Owl Preserve email: info@BoulderOwlPreserve.org mobile: 720 436 2465 web: www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org View this release online: http://boulderowlpreserve.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Owl_Coalition_Press_Release_Aug25_2016.pdf