The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) has opened the new Vesper Trail on Gunbarrel Hill northeast of Boulder after two nesting pairs of burrowing owls successfully raised eight owlets. The burrowing owl pairs began breeding close to the new trail just as the department was completing trail construction, leading OSMP to close the trail to help the owls reproduce with minimal human disturbance.

Burrowing owlsare a federally protected species and their populations are declining throughout Colorado. OSMP thanks community members for respecting the trail closure, which helped protect the only burrowing owl nests on city-managed open space in 2024. OSMP reminds visitors that they must remain on trail when traveling on the Vesper trail to allow undesignated trails to revegetate and help protect wildlife in the area.

The new Vesper Trail is a result of an OSMP community engagement effort (Gunbarrel Hill Integrated Site Plan) intended to improve visitor experiences on Gunbarrel Hill while also improving wildlife habitat in the area. As part of construction of the new trail, OSMP is also closing and revegetating undesignated trails that can impact wildlife habitats and seeding grassland areas with native vegetation to help improve habitat for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife species.

OSMP reminds community members to visit OSMPTrails.org to view current trail closures. Community members can view also view seasonal wildlife closures through an interactive webmap.