Brandon from Castle Pines writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Why are there a couple of no parking signs along Monarch Boulevard south of Rocky Heights Middle School? Why would anyone want to park right there?”
The reason for those signs, Brandon, is to prevent drivers from pulling over and bothering a pair of nesting golden eagles who call Wildcat Mountain home. The need for parking in this area is basically zero, but since the eagles like it better when people aren’t around, Douglas County put up the no parking zone that runs for half a mile and applies to both the northbound and southbound sides of the roadway.
“It is simply to provide a larger buffer between the nest and people,” said Mark Giebel, backcountry wilderness area director for the Highlands Ranch Community Association. “Cars speeding by are one thing, but people out of their cars, filming, taking pictures, etc. could impact the eagle’s behavior during nesting. Safety was also a consideration. The County did not want people stopping on the road to take pictures or watch the eagles for safety reasons.”
There is a small pull-out area from the northbound lanes in the no parking zone where sometimes volunteers from the Raptor Education Foundation will monitor and take videos of the eagles.
I’m told that the pair of golden eagles are so sensitive to human behavior, especially in the spring during nesting season, restrictions are placed on two trails near Wildcat Mountain. The Wildcat Mountain Trail, along with part of Douglas County’s East/West Trail, remain closed through the summer when the eagles are nesting.
“The trail closures are only in place after March 31 when the eagles are actively nesting,” Giebel said. “In years when the nest fails, the closures are lifted once we confirm with 100% certainty that the nest has failed and that they won’t try to lay another egg.”
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The remaining Douglas County trails in the area, as well as parts of the Wildcat Trail System, are far enough away from the raptors to stay open during eagle nesting.
There is a lengthy historical record starting in 1936 of golden eagles nesting on Wildcat Mountain. Back in 2011, this pair of golden eagles came to Wildcat Mountain to nest. That pair has nested in the cliffs each year since then and has produced eight fledglings over twelve years of nesting. 2019 was the last successful nest and now there is some concern that the female might be infertile, but I’m told as long as she keeps laying an egg and trying, HRCA will continue with the trail closures to give the eaglets the best chance at survival.
The protections for golden eagles, who mate for life, are taken very seriously by wildlife officers as well as by Colorado’s Raptor Education Foundation. I’m told golden eagles are more sensitive to human activity than bald eagles are and that disturbances by hikers, bikers and people getting out of parked cars along the roadway can affect the nesting process and subsequently the chance for eaglet survival. I saw a large sign attached to the closed gate along the Wildcat Mountain trail saying, “Disturbance of this wildlife is a felony violation of Federal law.”
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act allows for fines and jail time for the “take” of an eagle. Take is defined in this case as disturbing, agitating or bothering an eagle to a degree that causes or is likely to cause either injury to an eagle, a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or nest abandonment. If someone molests or disturbs an eagle or eagle nest, they can be subject to a $100,000 fine and one year in jail.
If you are lucky Brandon, you might catch a glimpse of one of the eagles as you drive by as it soars over Wildcat mountain and looks for food or just stretches out its wings after taking care of the baby eagle all day.
Denver7 traffic anchor Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his Driving You Crazy podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Spotify or Podbean.
