The Brush Creek Valley is threatened like never before. Once, development pressure was far into the distant forest, but it has now moved closer to the Town of Eagle, and is poised to remove the last vestiges of our agricultural and rural heritage, and erase the lower Brush Creek Valley as we know it.
Wildlife, feeling the pressure of development from all four corners, have found a safe winter haven on lower Brush Creek, and we, the members of Eagle Valley Habitat For Wildlife are seeking an answer to the question, “where will they go from here”? This is not only a last stand for wildlife, but an effort to save, as the noted photographer and historian John Fielder named it, one of the last remaining “Jewels of Colorado”.
We want to preserve this gem. We want to save one of the last remaining places for over 600 head of elk to survive winter. We want to save some of the last unobstructed views of the New York Mountains, and would like to maintain those view corridors without the intrusion of development in the foreground. We want to leave the inheritance to our children and grandchildren, that at least somewhere in this valley, they can view it as it once was, and imagine how ranchers once worked it, made a living from it, and appreciated how it supported both them and their other neighbors, the wildlife.
Beside the large number of elk, the wildlife that flourishes there include deer, coyote, bobcat, raccoons, fox, and in the areas further from town, bear and mountain lion are present. The entire area is very popular with eagles, hawks, owls, herons, and even a flock of vultures that appear every spring. Vast numbers of small birds indigenous to open fields and stream sides abound. Brush Creek itself provides rich riparian habitat for countless species of plant life as well as providing renowned trout fishing opportunities.
The existence of this unique area is being threatened as early as this year by proposed massive developments called The Haymeadow, and Upper and Lower Adam’s Rib Ranch. The citizens of the Eagle area are responding to this issue. They have recently spoken in large numbers with a loud voice, and have resoundingly said, “do not develop Brush Creek”. From the process to update the Eagle Area Community Plan, there came a very strong thread, and it was overwhelmingly, people want to see this Brush Creek Valley preserved, protected, and undeveloped, and they want to protect their quality of life that is so enhanced by this open space.
Therefore, we approach you, the Eagle Valley Land Trust, our real hope to create what we are calling The Brush Creek Preserve. We are totally committed to the hard work of enlisting support from the community, but we ask your guidance and help in funding this most monumental effort to preserve open space on Brush Creek forever.
Eagle Valley Habitat For Wildlife
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