Raptor Nesting Area Closure- Boulder Ranger District

PROHIBITIONS

Pursuant to 16 USC § 551 and 36 CFR § 261.50(a), the following is prohibited on the National Forest System (NFS) lands, roads, and trails in the Boulder Ranger District, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland, described below and shown on the attached map incorporated into this Order as Exhibit 1 (the “Described Areas”):

1. Going into, or being, in the Eagle Rock, Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress Described Area A from February 1 through July 31, 36 C.F.R. § 261.53(a). 

    

2. Going into, or being in, the Vampire Rock and Black Widow Slab Described Area B from March 1 through July 31, 36 36 C.F.R. § 261.53(a). 

EXEMPTIONS

Pursuant to 36 CFR § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

1. Persons with Forest Service Permit No. FS-7700-48 (Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order), specifically exempting them from this Order or a written determination by a Forest Service authorized officer that a permit is not required under 36 CFR § 251.50(e)(1) or (2).
2. Any Federal, State, or Local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting resource in the performance of an official duty.

DESCRIBED Areas

This Order will close an area of 177 acres of National Forest System land in the Boulder Ranger District of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland in Boulder County, Colorado. The areas closed are as follows:

1. Eagle Rock, Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress

   Along Highway 119 (Boulder Canyon Drive), approximately 1.5 miles east of Boulder Falls within the Eagle Rock (Section 6, Township 1 South, Range 71 West), Blob Rock and Bitty Buttress (Section 1, Township 1 South, Range 72 West, 6th P.M, Section 31, Township 1 North, Range 71 West, 6th P.M, and Section 6, Township 1 South, Range 71 West, 6th P.M) climbing areas and includes all NFS lands within the following boundaries: the entire rock formations known as Eagle Rock; Blob Rock (including East Blob, West Buttress (aka Comedy Wall), Dike Wall, Central Chimney, Main Wall, Right Gully, and Upper East Face); and Bitty Buttress (including Up & Left, Peapod Buttress, Main Buttress, Amphitheatre, and the Annex). 

2. Vampire Rock & Black Widow Slab

   South of Highway 119 (Boulder Canyon Drive), in Section 2, Township 1 South, Range 71 West, 6th P.M, and includes all NFS lands within the following boundaries: the entire rock formations known as Vampire Rock and Black Widow Slab.

The above-described areas are depicted in a map that is attached to the Order (Exhibit 1). 

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Order is to protect nesting raptors on National Forest System lands by prohibiting unauthorized access within the area of Raptor Nesting Sites. It provides for safety to the public and those authorized to be working in the area by preventing the general public from disturbing birds of prey, known as raptors, during their breeding and nesting seasons.

Each year, the U.S. Forest Service initiates adaptive, temporary closures to ensure birds of prey, also known as raptors, will be undisturbed during their breeding and nesting seasons. Raptors are sensitive to human disturbance during these times, and the closures give them a chance to select a nest site during courtship free of human influence. These closures occur at known nesting sites that are monitored by staff from the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 

According to Standard (ST) 101 in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland Forest Plan, the U.S. Forest Service is required to “protect known raptor nest areas. Base the extent of protection on proposed management activities, human activities existing before nest establishment, species, topography, vegetative cover, and other factors. A no-disturbance buffer around active nest sites will be required from nest-site selection to fledgling (generally March through July). Exceptions may occur when individuals are adapted to human activity.”

IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Order shall be in effect from February 1, 2026 at 12:01AM through July 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM, unless rescinded.
2. A map identifying the Described Areas is attached and made part of this Order as Exhibit 1. For a digital version of this Order and Exhibit 1, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/arp/alerts.
3. Unless otherwise expressly defined in this Order, the terms used in this Order are defined by the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, 36 CFR Chapter II, Parts 200-299. If there are terms in this Order that are not expressly defined in the Order or 36 CFR Chapter II, Parts 200-299, their meaning shall be determined by their plain language definitions.
4. A violation of the above prohibitions is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 16 USC § 551; 18 USC §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.
5. Contact the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland’s Supervisor’s Office in Fort Collins, Colorado by phone at (970) 295-6600 for more information about this Order.
6. This Order supersedes any previous Orders prohibiting the same or similar acts in the same Described Areas.