Each year, the entire Wildcat Mountain Trail System (yellow and purple trails in map below) closes from January 1st through March 31st for wintering wildlife. This is also the time period where eagles begin their courtship and nesting behavior and the closure is required by the USFWS. 

April 1st, the trail system opens, except for the Wildcat Mountain Trail (Purple Trail). It remains closed if the eagles have begun nesting. The purple trail, along with part of Douglas County’s East/West Trail (The RED part) remain closed through September 1st as required by USFWS. The rest of the Douglas County Trail (green and blue parts, as well as the yellow parts of the Wildcat Trail System are open during eagle nesting. The red D.C. Trail does not close until mid-March; typically when the eagles are confirmed as nesting and then remains closed through September 1st, along with the purple trail.

Questions: Mark.Giebel@hrcaonline.org

Bald and Golden Eagles and their nests are protected by Federal Law and require trail closures and buffers when the nests are active. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) requires certain trail closures in order for the Highlands Ranch Community Association (HRCA) to be in compliance with Federal Law.

Golden Eagles are sensitive to human disturbances. Human disturbances can affect normal nesting and rearing behavior and result in:

• Agitation behavior (displacement, avoidance, and defense)
• Increased vigilance at nest site (affecting feeding of their young)
• Change in forage and feeding behaviors
• Nestlings falling out or trying to fly too early due to human disturbance
• Nest site abandonment

The HRCA determined it necessary to close the trail to comply with recommendations and guidelines from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laws and guidelines.The plan to close the Wildcat Mountain Trail due to raptor nesting has been in place since the opening of the trails in 2006.

Golden Eagle populations continue to rebound from the 1950’s when thousands were killed, mostly by ranchers. Now days, the most likely cause for Golden Eagle mortality is habitat loss and direct persecution from humans in the form of shooting, trapping, and nest destruction or nest disturbance.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a Federal Act. The Act allows for $100,000 fines for the “take” of an eagle. Take, in this case, also includes molest or disturb. Therefore, if someone molests or disturbs an eagle or eagle nest, they can be subject to the $100,000 fine and one year in jail penalty.

"Disturb" means to agitate or bother an eagle to a degree that causes or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) Injury to an eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior.

Wildcat Mountain is a historic Golden Eagle nesting site. However, due to their sensitivity to human encroachment, the eagles stopped nesting there at some point. In 2006, when the HRCA became the owners of the property and put in trails, we were aware of the historic nesting and designed our trails and the Douglas County trails to provide the best possible opportunity to hopefully welcome the eagles back some day.

The trails in the Backcountry Wilderness Area are a unique commodity and enhance the quality of life in Highlands Ranch and are provided for the benefit of HRCA members only. Members will use their recreation center I.D. cards for proof of HRCA membership.

1. The HRCA’s mission statement states the HRCA is to enhance property values. By making the trails private, they become an asset to HRCA members and our community. In a sense, the trails are like a 5th recreation center and are managed as such. Our four recreation centers are also provided for HRCA community members only. 
   
   

2. The HRCA is here to serve our HRCA members. Making the trails private ensures our members experience will be a quality one, with limited impact on the existing ecosystem. 
   
   

3. Overcrowding of the trails would affect the trail experience in that the habitat and wildlife could potentially be at risk. Our goal is to properly manage the trails and the land and to minimize the impact these trails have on the wildlife and the habitat. Overcrowding would have a significantly greater impact on the ecosystem.
   
   

4. The trail design and construction was 100 % funded by the HRCA, a private, non-profit organization. No public funds were used to design and construct the trails. The trails are funded through member assessments, not taxes. Further, the maintenance of the trails and property are also 100% funded by the HRCA, as a member service. 

No. This is very common practice in homeowners associations. Most communities in this area, communities all over Colorado and the nation have common area properties that are private and for the use of the members of that community. Most homeowners associations have community pools that are private and only for the use of their members (property owners). Other communities have private clubhouses, tennis courts, lakes, sections of river, and trails. Ken Caryl has private land and trails within their community as does Pagosa Lakes, Red Feather Lakes, and Genesee, as examples.

In addition to the numerous examples of private property being off limits to people who live outside of certain communities, there are examples of “public” property that is closed to the public. Douglas County currently has a tax that funds its purchases of open space and conservation easements, as well as the building of trails within those open spaces. Some of these publicly funded spaces have restricted use of the land and trails; their trails are open to the public, but only by appointment. There may be several reasons for the restrictions Douglas County has placed on these properties, but one reason is to protect the habitat and wildlife and to minimize the impact trail use and overuse would have on the ecosystem in these properties. HRCA restricts public use because it is not publicly funded.

Yes, the public will be able to cross this land from McArthur Ranch Road to Santa Fe (Highway 85) on the Douglas County East-West Trail, when constructed. Presently Douglas County has constructed about 2 miles of the East-West Trail between MountainVista High School and Grigs Road. The public uses Planning Area H (a portion of the Rocky Heights Middle School and Rock Canyon High School campus). The public will perhaps someday use the 202 acre Wildcat Regional Park. The public benefits from the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Foundation and the future drivers training track land that is located in the Backcountry Wilderness Area of Highlands Ranch. The HRCA also provides many free events and services for the Highlands Ranch area and neighboring communities without restriction.

More important than taking in extra revenue is managing the trails and the land and ensuring that the land is able to continue to support the great diversity of wildlife and plant life that currently exists. Our top priority is to make sure the impact on the land, the native plants, and the wildlife is minimized. Restricting use will aid in accomplishing that goal.

The HRCA requires HRCA members to carry their recreation cards. The trails, trailhead, and parking lot will be patrolled by HRCA staff and HRCA volunteers. The Backcountry is private property and non-members on the trails are trespassing and could be criminally prosecuted under the state laws of Colorado. The HRCA sincerely hopes that our neighbors will respect the private property rights of this community and the laws of the State of Colorado.