PUMA (Preserve Unique Magnolia Association) is a non profit, volunteer, environmental community organization in the mountains of Boulder County, Colorado. We are dedicated to protecting Magnolia Road's unique rural qualities, unfragmented habitats, wildlife, scenic and recreational resources while creating community with our neighbors and partnership with the agencies which manage public lands in our area (e.g. U.S. Forest Service, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Denver Water Board).

PUMA, founded in 1993, has over 100 dues-paying members as of Fall 1999. Our organization sponsors annual community events such as neighborhood cleanups, Adopt-A-Road cleanup, thistle and knapweed pulls, and community potlucks. We meet every month, issue periodic newsletters to all Magnolia residents, post periodic educational mailings on issues of concern, and host "town hall" meetings at the Magnolia firehouse.

PUMA has historically interacted in governmental planning processes on an issue-specific basis. In order to develop an organized and comprehensive framework for this effort, PUMA initiated the Magnolia Environmental Preservation Plan (MEPP) in 1997. The MEPP has engaged local residents and property owners, County, state and federal agencies in a cooperative effort to identify and plan for the future uses of Magnolia's natural, historical, recreational, cultural and scenic resources. The 250 + page plan documents these resources and provides policy recommendations for preserving them.

The MEPP Planning Area encompasses approximately 22 square miles (14,100 acres) in the mountain region west of Boulder, from Boulder Creek on the north, South Boulder Creek on the south, the Peak-to-Peak Highway on the west and Gross Reservoir on the east.

MEPP examines the following resource domains:

• Geology, Mineral Resources and Geologic Hazards
  PUMA desires an environment uncontaminated from the potential long term effects of historical mining.

• Water Resources, Hydrology and Hydrogeology
  PUMA desires clean and properly functioning watersheds in support of local consumptive needs and for downstream and downslope users.

• Vegetation and Ecosystems
  PUMA desires ecosystems in the Planning Area to be restored to a more natural, healthy, resilient and biologically diverse condition. Areas of special interest should be protected to the greatest possible degree, including wetlands, old-growth forests, meadows dominated by native grasses, rock outcrops, aspen groves, riparian ecosystems, and springs. Management actions should be designed to mimic and restore the natural range of variability in forest dynamics with as little intrusion into natural systems as is possible

• Wildlife
  PUMA wishes to preserve biodiversity, especially sensitive species and species native to this montane region.

• Cultural Resources
  PUMA wishes to preserve, maintain and interpret the significant cultural resources in the Planning Area

• Public Recreation Resources
  PUMA's vision for recreation management in the Planning Area consists of low impact recreational use in areas that can support human activities without habitat damage and displacement or disturbance of sensitive wildlife species

• Scenic Resources
  PUMA desires to maintain the scenic integrity and natural beauty of the Planning Area.

• Transportation
  PUMA desires a safe and efficient public road system that also protects and enhances the key characteristics of the neighborhood and minimizes impacts to environmental quality.

• Denver International Airport Noise Pollution
  PUMA is committed to protecting the beauty and sense of sanctuary of our peaceful mountain community and recognizes noisy aircraft overflights as a form of pollution whose impacts need to be mitigated and minimized.

• Land Use Planning
  PUMA wishes that all future land use will be compatible and in harmony with the natural, rural character of the neighborhood.

For specific policy recommendations for each resource domain, see the MEPP document or refer to PUMA's web site at www.peaknet.org/webpages/puma/

MEPP provides a basis for predictable, proactive interaction with regulatory agencies, interest groups, and property owners as opposed to reacting to individual land use and land management proposals. MEPP supports responsible action in both the public and private sectors of the Magnolia area and provides a plan for preservation of the natural and cultural resources that exist.

In the winter of 2000, PUMA plans to submit the MEPP to Boulder County for adoption by reference into the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan.