A tremendous Victory for the Owls and the people of Colorado occurred this week thanks to your incredible help! On Weds Feb 15 the Boulder County Planning Commission voted to REJECT the application to bulldoze the Owl Hunting Meadow. Press release below. Many thanks to the wonderful and wise members of the Planning Commission that listened to the community and see the wisdom of preserving the habitat of the most visited and most loved Owls in all of Colorado. It's time to CELEBRATE! Please join the Twin Lakes Action Group and the Owl Preserve organization TODAY this Sunday Feb 19th, 2017 between 3pm and 6pm at Finkle and Garf's at 5455 Spine Road! And a HUGE THANK YOU to you! Thank you for attending and courageously speaking at the many public hearings on behalf of the Owls and Open Space. Thank you for all of your emails to Boulder City Council, County Commissioners and the Boulder County Planning Commission. Seriously, the tremendous outpouring of public support for the Owls is what created this victory. Thanks to all of you who attended the wonderful Owl Nature Hikes with us at Twin Lakes to see and hear these amazing creatures. Thank you to the young grade 5/6 students Summer and Anya who made the hit 4 minute Twin Lakes documentary called "Home of the Owls" - watch the doc at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org Next steps will be to make sure the Boulder County Commissioners do not try to overturn this wise decision and to work in partnership with the Boulder Valley School District to create the BVSD Owl Education Center (OEC). And, two in-person Owl Victory celebrations are planned and we would be delighted for you to attend. The first is today per below and the second will be at the proposed Twin Lakes Owl Preserve then Avery Brewing over the next two weeks - we'll get you the details over the next few days. It's time to CELEBRATE! Please join the Twin Lakes Action Group and the Owl Preserve organization this Sunday the 19th between 3pm and 6pm at Finkle and Garf's at 5455 Spine Road! Also, we would love to have you be actively involved as a volunteer with the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve or to join our board. And, as you can imagine, this fight is NOT OVER. We've scored a major victory, but many more challenges will likely emerge in the coming days and weeks. If you would like to make a donation to help support the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space you can donate at: http://www.tlag.org/support/ Again Many Thanks to You on this Victory! I look forward to toasting with you at one of our two victory celebrations. I look forward to working with you to turn our dream of the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space into reality. Best Regards, Ken Ken J. Beitel Chair of Wilderness Conversation Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org email: info@BoulderOwlPreserve.org m. 720 436 2465 ---------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release – Thurs Feb 16, 2017 Victory for the Owls: Boulder County Planning Commission Rejects Development Proposal in 5 to 4 Vote Dream of a Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space moves closer to reality (Boulder, Colorado) In a historic vote that resolves one of the biggest environmental controversies to have taken place in Boulder County, the Boulder County Planning Commission has rejected a land-use change proposal to build 300 apartments on the site of the proposed Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space. The decision has been widely praised in Boulder which places a high value on open space and natural areas. Community members and environmental groups are supportive of affordable housing, but are delighted that the proposed development will be relocated and not be built on key owl habitat that is home to the most visited owls in Colorado. Boulder County Parks and Open Space indicates that 100,000 people visits occur each year at Twin Lakes in north Boulder with many specifically to see the great horned owls. “The proposed Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space will be a wonderful place for people and owls,” explains Ken Beitel, Chair of Wilderness Conservation for the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space organization, “We are grateful for the Planning Commission’s wisdom in protecting this remarkable ecosystem for future generations to come.” 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, tiger salamanders, western painted turtles, rabbits, bats and other mammals. The night before the Planning Commission vote, students from schools in surrounding counties, Boulder Valley School District students and Owl Preserve representatives presented at the monthly school board meeting and invited the Boulder Valley School District to help protect the owls by creating an Owl Education Center at the Twin Lakes Owl Preserve. Among those giving testimony at the school board meeting were grade 5/6 students Anya Smith and Summer Cuppari Gould of Dream Tank who just released the Twin Lakes Owl documentary “Home of the Owls”. Featuring the remarkable perspective of a hunting great horned Owl, the documentary has gone viral on You Tube with more than 700 views in 3 days. The program can be viewed at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org “We had a warm welcome from the Boulder Valley School District the day prior to this historic vote and board members expressed interest in touring the proposed Owl Preserve and Open Space. We appreciate their willingness to discuss the potential creation of a BVSD Owl Education Center,” says Ken Beitel, “Open to the community and complete with nature trails, interpretive signs and guided hikes, the Owl Education Center could become one of the most loved elements of the BVSD school district as 10,000 students and teachers each year experience the magic of baby owls learning to fly and the life-cycle of these wild great horned owls.” If the proposed partnership with BVSD and Boulder County and the Twin Lakes community proceeds, several thousand BVSD students and community members will work with ecologists over the next year to restore the 20 acre Owl Hunting Meadow to native short grass prairie with abundant wildflowers. Half of the Owl Preserve board members are BVSD students who will guide the organization in providing educational experiences valuable to young people. An Owl Cam will also be installed at the Twin Lakes where great horned owl families have raised two to four baby owls each spring for the last 30 years. More information at www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org and www.DreamTank.co The “Home of the Owls” documentary was produced by participants of Dream Tank, a social entrepreneurship accelerator and think tank for kids age 8-14 who get to launch their dreams while solving local and global challenges. - 30 - Media Kit – Download “Home of the Owls” for broadcast use A broadcast quality high-res copy of “Home of the Owls” along with owl video/print photos are available at: http://boulderowlpreserve.org/mediakit/ “Home of the Owls” – Website Embed - use the following embed code to show the documentary on your website (You Tube web player): Media and Interviews Contact: Ken J. Beitel – Chair of Wilderness Conservation, Twin Lakes Owl Preserve and Open Space email: info@BoulderOwlPreserve.org mobile: 720 436 2465 web: www.BoulderOwlPreserve.org