Summerlin: Save Sweetwater Lake’s peregrine falcons

It is deeply ironic that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Governor Polis are celebrating a successful falcon breeding season at Fisher’s Peak (tinyurl.com/fyt5yenv), while simultaneously advancing state park plans at Sweetwater Lake designed to drive our beloved falcons away.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that CPW’s 2024 Sweetwater Resource Stewardship Plan labels the application of 2020 Raptor Protection Guidelines as a “high priority.” Yet, CPW and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) ignored this in their actual development plans.

Shockingly, the agencies even suggest starting construction early to deter falcons from nesting. That is not wildlife conservation; it is displacement.

Furthermore, the USFS is bypassing its own Forest Plan mandates. It ignored Wildlife Standard 8, which protects hunting habitats within 10 miles of a nest. It is also violating Standard 9, which restricts human activity within a half-mile of occupied nests between March 15 and July 31. Their evaluation completely omitted development impacts on prey habitats just 800 feet from the nesting cliff, right in the birds’ direct sightline.

The agencies explicitly admit their plans conflict with falcon protections. Worse, they have threatened to withhold wildlife protections entirely if the public pushes for a lower-impact alternative. Legally, they cannot do that.

We must protect Sweetwater Lake’s falcons. Demand that CPW and the USFS apply required falcon protections.

Maria Summerlin

Gypsum