The Bald Eagle Nesting Site (Buffer Zone) in Aspen Glen has existed since 1992, when the planned unit development (PUD) and golf club were first established. Houses have continued to pop up ever since, but not on parcels 245 and 246 along the Roaring Fork River, where development was prohibited to allow for nesting. While there have been attempts to remove or modify the buffer zone, the can keeps getting kicked down the road. A current proposal to modify the zone has been set back, with the Garfield County Planning Commission hearing having been postponed from Oct. 28 to Jan. 27.
According to Garfield County Public Information Officer Renelle Lott, the October hearing was “cancelled due to unmet public noticing deadlines.”
In 1992, the Garfield Board of County Commissioners passed Resolution 92-056, approving the PUD along with a section about the buffer zone, noting that it cannot be altered without the approval of the Colorado Division of Wildlife — known today as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). The buffer zone has not been changed since.
In December of 2016, the two resident eagles abandoned the nest and built another one about a mile upriver, still adjacent to Aspen Glen, according to the current application, which added that in 2018, the tree with the original nest came down in a windstorm.
The Sun spoke with Davis Farrar of Western Slope Consulting, LLC, who is recently retired, but submitted the most recent application on behalf of Aspen Glen Golf Company to modify the buffer zone. The Sun attempted to reach the applicant’s current attorney, Scott Grosscup with Balcomb & Green, but did not receive a response as of press time.
Farrar originally worked with the applicant to apply to remove the buffer zone in 2021, when CPW agreed there was no longer a need for it, according to Farrar. He added that the Planning & Zoning Commission as well as county staff also recommended removal of the buffer zone at the time. Still, the commissioners ruled to keep it in place.
The original PUD for Aspen Glen was for 630 units, Farrar explained, including 26 lots on the two parcels associated with the buffer zone.
“The application as it was resubmitted proposes to reduce that density by 30%, so from 26 down to 18,” he said.
The currently proposed modifications would entail some protections for wildlife in lieu of the stricter buffer zone, including, among others, building envelope restrictions to provide spacing between lots for wildlife movement, fenced enclosures for domestic pets, lighting restrictions and a non-building buffer zone from the Glenwood Ditch approximately 75-feet wide, along with landscape screening “that will give wildlife the ability to traverse the property,” according to the application.
Recently, CPW again lent its support to modify the buffer zone.
“With the tree and eagles’ nest no longer existing in the area, CPW recognizes that the modification to the buffer zone is warranted due to no new nesting site being inhabited within the area,” CPW Area Wildlife Manager Matt Yamashita wrote in a June 6 letter to Garfield County Community Development. The letter goes on to state that CPW would like to be involved in the planning process to address wildlife concerns.
Opposition
Melissa McPherron, the secretary of the homeowners association in Aspen Glen, filled The Sun in on the opposition among community members to modify the buffer zone.
“We circulated a survey … and we had about 235 responses,” McPherron said during an interview on Friday, Oct. 16. “Of those, 88% were opposed to lifting the buffer zone.” The survey went out to all Aspen Glen property owners, she explained.
“They still live in the neighborhood,” she said of the two bald eagles.
Paul Schmidt, a conservationist consultant, wrote a letter explaining why the buffer zone should remain in place as is, and admonished that building 18 homes there could result in a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
“This federal statute strictly prohibits the ‘take’ of bald eagles, their nests or their eggs without a federal permit,” he wrote. “Under the Act, ‘take’ is broadly defined to include ‘disturbing’ the birds.”
“While the Bald Eagle nest tree was lost due to storm damage in 2018, the area continues to be actively used by nearby nesting bald eagles for resting and foraging,” Schmidt continued. “Wildlife have adapted to the current level of activity in the area over the years, but a dramatic new influx of construction activity along with a permanent loss of this important wildlife habitat resulting from this development will no doubt have profound effects on the behavior and, potentially, the viability of the eagles and other wildlife.”
Resident Sibel Tekce resides near the buffer zone and has been documenting the eagles’ activity since 2021, with the support of the Roaring Fork Audubon.
Tekce noted that she’s observed the eagles in the buffer zone almost every day.
“The eagle buffer zone is one of the last undeveloped areas, which is used by the bald eagles and other wildlife,” she said. “It is a sanctuary for the wildlife, which benefits the entire Aspen Glen community.”
“Most important is that we want to be good stewards to the wildlife and nature we’ve been blessed with,” McPherron echoed.