Sunday, April 17th - Photo Of The Week... During our snowstorm last Sunday, a Wild Turkey (meleágris gallopávo) was spotted foraging for food  in a resident's yard on Storm Mountain, making for this "Photo of the Week". Similar to the barnyard turkey, but slimmer with a rusty colored, not white, tip to the tail. Turkeys roost in trees at night to stay safe from ground predators like coyotes. They are weak fliers and prefer to avoid danger by running. The male, or gobbler, is often heard in the early morning calling to summon the hens of his harem. Wild Turkeys are year round residents to our area frequently being seen along CO 43 near Glen Haven.

Friday, April 15th - County Offers "Do Not Spray" Option for Weed Control... The Larimer County Weed Control District has begun spraying county right-of-ways with herbicides to control noxious weeds. The Weed District offers landowners with property adjacent to county right-of-ways the option to decline the county's herbicide spraying services near their property. If a landowner prefers not to have the right-of-ways by his or her property sprayed, he or she must complete a "Do Not Spray" form and post the area with appropriate signs. The posting requirements listed below must be met for the county to honor a request to refrain from treating an area with herbicides.

·  Signs must be posted immediately adjacent to the right-of-way but not on the right-of-way.

·  Signs must be posted at each end of the property. Spraying operations will end at the point where the first sign is posted and begin at the point where the second sign is posted.

·  Signs must be clearly visible to approaching traffic from the road; they must be at least 36 inches above the ground and not obstructed from view.

·  Signs and the lettering on them must be large enough to be easily read from a 20-yard distance.

Landowners requesting that no herbicides be used in a particular area will be responsible for the vegetation management on that portion of the right-of-way, including height control, annual weed control and noxious weed control. For more information or to obtain a form, call the Weed District at 498-5768.

Thursday, April 14th - County Seeks Applicants For Boards and Commissions... Over 400 Larimer County citizens currently volunteer on County Boards and Commissions. Serving on a Board is a valuable service; doing so helps shape future policy while giving back to the community. Larimer County’s campaign for Board volunteers heats up every spring as turnover occurs with Board terms ending on June 30. This spring there are openings on 14 Boards, applications are due Friday, May 13 and citizens can apply online at www.larimer.org/boards. A short video at the website answers many questions about serving on a Board. Contact Melinda Keen at the Larimer County Commissioners’ Office at 498-7015.

 The 14 Larimer County Boards with openings are:

• Board of Adjustment
• Board of Appeals
• Community Corrections Advisory Board
• Core Services/Placement Alternatives Commission
• Environmental Advisory Board
• Estes Valley Planning Commission
• Extension Advisory Committee
• Flood Review Board
• Juvenile Community Review Board
• Office on Aging Advisory Council
• Open Lands Advisory Board
• Planning Commission
• Rural Land Use Board
• Weed Control District Advisory Committee
  
  

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Photo taken this morning showing oil and hazardous chemicals still leeching into streams from last year's dumping on FDR 128 in Roosevelt National Forest.

Wednesday, April 13th - Chemical Dumping To Possibly Begin Soon...  The Cedar Park/Cedar Springs Road Maintenance Corporation is once again preparing to dump chemicals onto FDR 128 in, what is considered by many to be, yet another futile attempt at controlling dust. The chemical being dumped is being called Mag-chloride, but contains other chemicals which the manufacturer, not surprisingly, refuses to disclose. Independent testing has shown extremely high concentrations of Arsenic and Barium in sludge from the chemicals' run-off. The presence of these deadly chemicals in the run-off suggests either their presence in the original product or a chemical reaction with the recycled asphalt road base, resulting in the leeching of heavy metals. Trees and shrubs that come in contact with this run-off are dead or dying. The run-off is also flowing freely into the National Forest streams and the Big Thompson River downstream. County, State, and Federal officials are apparently turning a blind eye to the issue and allowing this to continue. Mag-chloride has also been found to contain Cadmium, a known carcinogen, and it's use has been banned in several Colorado communities, including Aspen, because of it's, "cancer causing potential", and the extreme destruction to local vegetation. Once the chemicals dry, they become part of the dust and some fear that the deadly substances are being inhaled as air-borne particles. Several residents of the area have complained of mystery illnesses since the use of this chemical began, with some going so far as to move from the area out of concern for their families health. 

We at SMN find it very strange that anyone would take such risks simply to try and control dust, with a chemical which does not perform very well at all in this situation. At the same time, instead of ordinary dust, we now have highly corrosive slime constantly coating our vehicles,  drying into a potentially dangerous dust that we breathe in daily. If there ever was a case of blatant ignorance of the facts, total disregard for the environment, and flat out stupidity, this would be it. We strongly feel that concerned residents should call, write, and email their County, State, and Federal representatives demanding that this be stopped immediately. 

Please note that the current condition of FDR 128 as of 3PM, is very good. The grading and base in preparation for the chemicals, while still dusty, makes the road much smoother and safer. Quite simply, the best condition the road has been in years. This type of maintenance, which apparently took very little effort to achieve, is far preferred over the chemical method previously tried. We would fully be in support of this type of work to maintain our access road.

Monday, April 11th - Brunt Of Storm Misses Our Area... The brunt of this weekend's Spring snowstorm missed our immediate area hitting more south, with up to 36 inches reported in Westcliff. It did however leave us with several inches of wet snow which was needed in our area. Area roads are reported as snow-packed and icy in spots. Residents traveling towards Greeley and eastward should be aware that a Winter Storm Warning is still in effect with blizzard conditions likely. I-70 is closed to Kansas. Temperatures are predicted to warm up starting today with 60's possible by mid-week. This warmth along with moisture from Sunday's snow will combine to green things up across the area.