Colorado wildlife officials 'very concerned' about proposed Topgolf's netting, lights

Colorado Parks and Wildlife wrote in an assessment letter to the town of Timnath that it is "very concerned'' about the proposed Topgolf project's potential negative impact to wildlife.

The assessment was sent to the town last week as part of preliminary planning of the project in the Ladera development south of Costco and southeast of Harmony Road and Interstate 25.

"CPW is very concerned that this project may negatively impact a variety of species in this area,'' the agency wrote in the assessment letter. "This location is in close proximity to an area of high ecological value to a variety of species. The riparian area and river corridors are of extreme importance to bald eagles and other raptors as well as waterfowl and bats. CPW realizes development will happen in response to increasing populations but this development should happen responsibly and reasonably."

Here are the wildlife agency's top requests for the Topgolf project

The state wildlife agency laid out concerns to the town regarding the project and "strongly requests the town of Timnath to require mitigation plans from Topgolf to address impacts." It suggests:

• Developers provide the agency and town of Timnath anticipated netting information, including gauge, mesh spacing, visibility and total area.

• Require the developer’s plans to address: wildlife species collisions; net monitoring protocols; expected response time to address injured, trapped and dead wildlife; anticipated resources to rescue injured wildlife within the project site; frequency of collisions and collisions resulting in injury and death at all existing Topgolf sites.

• Annexation codes be delayed until such a time where all above information and data has been shared and analyzed with CPW.

More: Timnath trafficWeitzel Street woes: Why one of Northern Colorado's most congested intersections is so bad

Topgolf, Ladera, Timnath respond to the wildlife agency assessment

• Topgolf and Ladera, through a spokesperson, responded to the Coloradoan's emailed questions regarding its project, stating that it would not be responding to questions now due to an "extensive study that will take place in the next 6-10 week(s) specific to potential impacts to wildlife including priority species regulated by the Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.''

• Timnath Community Development Director Matt Blakely said: "We received the CPW report and will be requiring (Topgolf) to submit the information that we need so that we can review it and work with CPW on it to move forward on some sort of recommendation. It's still pretty early in the process and we don't have the reports and documents from the applicant that we need.''

Wildlife agency questions if the site is right for Topgolf

The location of the Ladera development is a magnet for commercial and residential development due to its proximity to I-25 and popular businesses such as Costco, Walmart, Floor & Decor, Chick-fil-A, Wendy's Freddy's Steakburgers and Starbucks.

It's also a draw to wildlife with the nearby Poudre River, gravel pit ponds, wetlands, irrigation canals and large trees. The wildlife agency classifies the habitat surrounding the proposed Ladera site as "high priority habitat" that holds a high concentration of wildlife and classifies a large portion of the site as a "high priority habitat buffer.''

Part of that habitat was provided by Connell Resources, the landowner of the site that created gravel pit ponds from its gravel extraction plant. The plant will be moved as development of the site increases, with some of the area where the plant is located proposed to become open space.

The wildlife agency wrote it "strongly encourages the town of Timnath to look at this project thoughtfully to determine if it is appropriate for an area of such high ecological value or if another site would be more appropriate for a project of this scope."

It said netting up to 175 feet in height and lighting may negatively impact raptors, such as bald eagles, waterfowl and particularly bats. Topgolf said previously its netting is similar to that used for aviary purposes.

There are four bald eagle nests within 2.5 miles of the site, including one within a mile, and historical hawk nesting within a quarter mile of the site. Those species are known to have used the site in the past, according to the assessment.

In addition, a great blue heron rookery was located just west across I-25 from the site. However, the roost trees that contained more than 40 heron nests have fallen, leaving questions about where the herons will nest.

Timnath growth:Shoppers' delight: Expanded Weitzel Street near Costco to reopen in Timnath

Assessments by Cedar Creek Associates, conducted for Connell Resources, and EDM, conducted for the National Audubon Society, showed concerns of birds potentially becoming disoriented by lights and becoming entangled in netting if a structure similar in scope to Topgolf was constructed.

The EDM assessment said bird collisions with netting are not well documented but that several bird species, including raptors and waterfowl, have been documented becoming entangled in Topgolf nets.

It said infrastructure such as power lines and other elevated structures bisecting a feeding area and a roosting site are especially problematic, which is the case at Ladera.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Topgolf in Timnath: Colorado wildlife officials 'very concerned'