TopStory
Peregrine falcon were once on the brink of extinction but have since recovered. Now, protections are in place to help the bird survive. This peregrine, photographed near Purgatory, seems to be having a little meal./ Photo by Anne-Marie Ferretti Mee
Make way for the peregrine Iconic raptor needs time, space to successfully breed by Jonathan Romeo
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lthough trail closures to safeguard winter habitat for big game such as elk and deer have lifted, there are still two areas off limits to recreation around Durango to protect peregrine falcon during mating season. For years, areas around Perins Peak State Wildlife Area, just west of Durango, have remained closed until July 31 as the iconic falcon nests, rears its young and heads off for greener pastures. But a new area was added in 2019 on Animas City Mountain, northwest of Durango. The Bureau of Land Management just put up signs about the closure, which may have come as a surprise to anyone hoping to hike or bike to the top of the mountain.
“The closures are specific trails where we know peregrine falcon are,” Nate West, a wildlife biologist for BLM, said. “There’s still a whole lot of real estate out there where people can go recreate.” Peregrine falcon were pushed to the brink of extinction because of, well, humans making poor choices, like using toxic pesticides. However, human efforts to save the species have been a conservation success story. But that work’s not done, especially as new threats emerge (a peregrine falcon in Nebraska just died and tested positive for avian flu, as just one example). One tool agencies across the country use is land closures to give peregrines the best chance at reproducing. But that takes cooperation from the public, even if that means giving up your favorite mountain overlook
for a couple months out of the year. “Recreation definitely has an impact,” West said. “And it’s still important to manage this species, so they don’t go back on (the Endangered Species List).” One goal in mind It might be helpful to explain why Perins Peak and Animas City Mountain even exist at all as public lands that we can enjoy. Up until the 1970s, most of Perins Peak and Animas City Mountain were privately owned. The BLM and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (then the Division of Wildlife), however, identified those lands as important winter ranges for elk and deer, as well as nesting peregrine falcons. As a result, the Nature Conservancy ended up purchasing the properties and
transferring them to BLM and CPW control with one goal in mind: the conservation and protection of wildlife and habitat. Motorized use was banned from the outset, but other forms of recreation were allowed as a sort of cherry on top, with the caveat these lands would be closed at specific times for wildlife. (In 2015, the BLM banned mountain biking in Perins Peak after the rise in popularity in the sport put new pressures on the land, though biking is allowed on Animas City Mountain). Much has been written and debated about recreation’s impact on wildlife – a Forest Service study published in 2018, for instance, found elk fled more than 3,000 ft. when a mountain bike approached, compared with just 1,640 to 2,460 ft. when a person walked by or passed on horseback.
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8 n May 5, 2022
telegraph
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