BRECKENRIDGE — Breckenridge will step up enforcement of leash laws in the Cucumber Gulch wetlands near Peak 8 after researchers reported finding a dead boreal toad near a trail in the area, according to open space and trails planner Danica Rice.

While there’s no way to tell for certain if the threatened species was killed by a dog, small puncture wounds suggest that a bite from a canine may have been the cause, according to Rice. Raccoons and other mammals may also kill toads.

Rice said she’s talked with the town’s police department and expects officers will soon begin patrolling the area more frequently.

The experiment isn’t working

A protective management overlay for Cucumber Gulch prohibits dogs altogether, but a variance was made to allow for leashed dogs on the Interstate trail. Open space planner Heide Andersen said her department will likely initiate a move to rescind the variance, a step that requires approval from the town council, she said.

The variance was controversial to begin with, and was adopted as an experiment. That experiment doesn’t seem to be working, Andersen said.

New signs that outline the restrictions on use of the gulch have recently been vandalized, and both Rice and Andersen say enforcement of leash laws in the area is critical to protecting natural resources.

The town hopes to boost awareness of the issue at the same time, with plans in the works for a trail map that would explain restrictions and show the areas adjacent to the gulch where dogs are allowed, Andersen said.

A setback for the researchers

Andersen said she delivered the dead amphibian to researcher Lauren Livo, who will try to determine the cause of death. Livo is a member of a statewide boreal toad recovery team.

The toad was previously located and tagged by the boreal toad research team, which has been surveying the area for several weeks.

So far, the team has only found two toads and no signs of breeding yet. The death of the mature toad was a setback and disappointment for the team, Rice said. Marked with a spot of fluorescent dye, the toad could have helped researchers understand how the amphibians use the wetlands of Cucumber Gulch.

Boreal toads are a state-listed endangered species and are considered for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Cucumber Gulch, offering prime habitat, has been eyed as a potential recovery site.

Andersen said dogs running free may have also contributed to the decline of beaver populations in the gulch. Beavers are the keystone species in the area, creating and regulating the complex wetlands hydrology with dams and channels.

Andersen and Rice said that some of the most blatant violations stem from nearby property owners in the Peak 7 area, who simply let their dogs out of the house to roam free in the area.

Both sounded frustrated by the situation.

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Andersen said. “We have all sorts of signage up there, but people ignore it.”

She said town trail crews have reported abuses of the area. In one case, a person walked right up to a sign that spells out the leash restrictions and started throwing a tennis ball for her pet into the wetlands — precisely in an area where a beaver is trying to re-establish habitat.

Andersen and Rice said there appears to be systematic violation of the dog restrictions in the area, threatening the town’s natural resource crown jewel, a valuable wetlands complex with rare ancient fens that was designated an Aquatic Resource of National Importance by the EPA.

Buy-in by the local community is the key long-term piece in developing a successful long-term conservation strategy, Andersen concluded.



Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 228, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.