Armory developers agree to move prairie dogs to conservation area

BOULDER — The city of Boulder and the company redeveloping the Armory site in Boulder have reached an agreement to relocate the prairie dog colony from the property at 4750 Broadway.

The prairie dogs will be relocated to a city-owned habitat conservation area south of Boulder that is managed by the city’s Open Space and Mountain Parks department.

As part of the agreement, Armory Community LLC, led by Bruce Dierking and Jim Loftus, will withdraw its lethal control application and pay the cost to transfer the prairie dogs, the city said Wednesday.

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The city and the developers negotiated a $60,000 fee that is intended to offset the city’s administrative and opportunity costs and mitigate expenses associated with managing open-space lands.

The city will apply to the state of Colorado for a relocation permit, and if granted, the relocation is expected to be completed by Nov. 1.

The relocation must be conducted in a way that is consistent with the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog component of the city’s Urban Wildlife Management Plan. Before the relocation begins, the developers’ contractor will meet with city staff to discuss the appropriate methods to humanely remove and transport the animals, as well as work out details such as site preparation.

In the near future, the city intends to further explore how it will prioritize the relocation of prairie dogs from urban areas onto public lands.

Dierking and Loftus recently were approved by the city’s planning board to build 182 apartment units, 18 townhomes, and commercial retail and restaurant space at the former site of the National Guard Armory in north Boulder.