County tractor removed from Little Gaynor Lake

Earlier this month, a piece of Boulder County earth moving equipment fell into Little Gaynor Lake, south of Oxford Road between 95th Street and Highway 287. Mike Foster, agricultural resources manager with the county, said that the county had installed equipment called "solar bees" in the lake to help reduce odor complaints; they do this by churning the lake water. Due to decreased water levels, these bees were no longer floating and instead stuck in the mud; as such, they needed to be removed.

Given the cold temperatures, the team tasked with removing the bees thought the ground would be frozen. So, when the county sent their backhoe out to the site, the machine got stuck in the muddy area. While the backhoe was removed on March 3, the solar bees were not retrieved from Little Gaynor Lake and still remain in place.

Brenda Laartz, a local resident, saw the machinery and notified the Courier staff.

Said Laartz, "Boulder County should be proud and take care of Little Gaynor Lake by keeping the water level high enough for the lake to continue to exist. It's such a beautiful place for residents to live in nearby neighborhoods, the waterfowl to [inhabit] and critical for the surrounding wildlife to survive. It is a well known area for bird watching."

It is also an area which, according to some, is in danger. Some local residents, including the WildView Homeowners Association, have come together to form a group called Save Little Gaynor Lake. They argue that the county has not been upholding its contractual obligations to manage and maintain the area around the lake.

One of their major concerns appears to be around the decreasing water levels. There have been reports across the country of decreasing water levels, in both man-made and natural lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.

In a recent report in Scientific American, Wisconsin-based climate scientist Carl Watras said that Great Lake water levels have been on the decline since 1998 and that the current levels are shockingly low.

Decreased water levels don't just affect vegetation, but also local wildlife. According to the SLGL website, the lake used to have a variety of visits from various waterfowl, including pelicans, geese and others, including the state bird, the Lark Bunting. The group also reports that over the past several years, residents have seen "dramatically reduced waterfowl visitation."

Notably, Gaynor Lakes are listed as number 16 out of the 96 Critical Wildlife Habitats identified in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. The plan states that a goal of the county is to sustain and protect "native species, natural ecosystems and the biodiversity of the region." But according to SLGL, the county still has work to do before accomplishing this goal.