Nature center planned for Mud Lake space

NEDERLAND – While Internet e-commerce companies rise and fall with great drama, almost unnoticed the creatures in the underbrush of Boulder County open space incessantly, methodically complete their daily tasks.

Luckily, a diverse age group of humans, dedicated to lifelong appreciation of the environment, studies and records what’s happening.

Children and adults of all ages take part in the Wild Bear Science School in the small town of Nederland. In the next few years, the school will create a permanent home and nature center on the banks of Boulder County’s Mud Lake, realizing the long-held dream of its founder. The international school and center will be called the Nature Center of the Continental Divide.

Jill Dreves, ecology lover, former school teacher and executive director of the school, could not contain her enthusiasm about the new center now in its planning stages.

“Wild Bear started as an after-school program at the Little Bear pre-school. From the beginning, it was always my goal to build a permanent structure for the school with a nature center. Now it’s happening,” Dreves said.

The nature center will face south and include a solarium. Exhibits inside will describe six environmental concepts of the area from the 14,000-foot Continental Divide down to Mud Lake, about 8,000 feet in elevation. The exhibits will depict three ecological zones: alpine, subalpine and montane.

One exhibit will focus on watershed issues and water conservation. “Forty percent of Boulder’s water comes from the watershed at and near Nederland,” Dreves said. In addition, the exhibit will portray the plant and insect interaction at Mud Lake and incorporate theories from the U.S. Geological Survey’s research on meteorites.

A second exhibit concept will center on the sustainable features of the nature center. “The building will be an exhibit itself,” Dreves said. It will deal with solar and wind energy issues.

A third display will deal with the environmental concepts of recycling and leaving no trace, while a fourth presents a 3-D model and map of the property with a guidebook.

An outdoor scientific exhibit will study the patterns of nature, and lastly, a bird window, looking from the outside in, will feature the birds that come and go at Mud Lake and the surrounding open space with a library for research.

The school currently is located in the Nederland Community Center at the northern edge of town. Students are five years old and up. Besides programs for children that are available every day of the year, Wild Bear offers family workshops and teen classes like backpacking. “Everything we do is hands-on,” Dreves said.

Prices range from $60 a month for a one-day-a-week program to $245 a month for a five-day-a-week program. The school’s Web site provides more information at www.wildbear.org.

The five acres owned by the Wild Bear Science School at Mud Lake is part of a 200-acre parcel known as the Mud Lake Open Space. The parcel was purchased by Boulder County with the town of Nederland and the Wild Bear Science School in a three-partner agreement.

Scott Bruntjen, mayor pro tem of Nederland, said the parcel was purchased for $1.5 million. “Boulder County Parks and Open Space paid $600,000 a year ago. Nederland will pay $350,000 this December and $450,000 in December 2001. Wild Bear will contribute $100,000.” Wild Bear Science School also will be the steward for the entire open space parcel.

While Nederland is not large enough to contribute funds outright to help Wild Bear build its nature center, Bruntjen said it will help the non-profit get grants by being the applicant and by constructing roads and other infrastructure.

Nederland residents value environmental education and support the acquisition of open space, he said. In a study conducted by the Peak-to-Peak Healthy Communities, the town’s citizens opposed rampant development and favored more open space and learning centers.

The town of Nederland will reimburse Boulder County $150,000 for the open space land. Ron Stewart, director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space, said the county also will receive a site in Nederland where it will build 10 to 12 affordable housing units.

“We agreed that a certain number of units would be available for Boulder Valley School District employees who live in Nederland and qualify for affordable housing,” Stewart said. “The deal was a very complex governmental transaction.”

In the Boulder County Parks and Open Space office, Resource Planner Don Wojcik already has begun the management plan for Mud Lake Open Space. “First we’ll determine what resources are there – habitats, water, roads – and identify which ones are sensitive,” he said. The purpose of the open space is to provide recreational opportunities without degrading the area and to preserve the open space land.

“When the inventories are completed, the county will propose a design,” Wojcik said, which should be ready by the middle of next year. At that time, the county will invite public input about the design and hold public hearings in front of the commissioners.

“Wild Bear’s parcel is incorporated into the overall plan, and its nature center will be the entry to Mud Lake Open Space,” Wojcik said. The Wild Bear staff will provide nature signage that explains the importance of specific plant life and, when the nature center opens, staff will be available to answer questions and help open space visitors.

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