In recent months, hundreds of concerned citizens have come together to voice a critical message to the Louisville City Council: protect the Stearns territorial bald eagles by preserving their habitat and primary food source, the prairie dog colonies. Despite repeated outreach, including a petition signed by over 430 people, the Council has yet to meaningfully respond. While Louisville’s mayor has acknowledged our work and the receipt of our petition, he sidestepped the only request we made — to conserve critical habitat and prey on lands soon to be ceded to the city by a developer. Instead, he suggested that we reach out to the developer directly. This lack of substantive engagement disregards the petition’s core request and risks violating federal protections under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

The Stearns eagles are more than majestic raptors gracing our open skies — they are symbols of our natural heritage and crucial indicators of environmental health. Since about 2010, their territory near Stearns Lake has provided most of the resources they need to hunt, nest and raise their young, surrounded by the relentless push of development.

Through thousands of hours of scientific study, we have documented the repeated displacement of the Stearns eagles from their original nesting area and nearby Boulder County open space lands. This displacement, caused by encroaching home developments at their original nest site, forced them to relocate nearly two miles away to nest near Red Tail Ridge, where they were drawn by the area’s rich prairie dog habitat. Now, the City of Louisville plans to eradicate prairie dog colonies from open space and parks lands that border Red Tail Ridge, which threatens to eliminate an essential food source for these federally protected eagles, jeopardizing their survival once again.

The petition that remains unaddressed by Louisville’s leadership calls on the City to prevent this destruction and respect its obligations to protect local wildlife. As a community, we cannot stand by while our natural heritage is undermined for development interests. Louisville has an opportunity to model responsible growth that respects federal protections and community values.

The prairie dogs near Red Tail Ridge that sustain the Stearns eagles are a keystone species, meaning their presence is essential to maintaining the diversity and health of other wildlife in the territory. Removing the prairie dogs as a primary food source risks the loss of these iconic eagles altogether. Yet Louisville’s open space and parks plans fail to reflect the protections mandated under federal law, setting a dangerous precedent.

The Council’s neglect of these concerns is not only disappointing; it’s a lost opportunity for sustainable community planning. At this moment, the Council can choose to act as stewards of both the people and wildlife that define our region — or allow short-term development interests to erase our shared natural heritage.

The choice is ours, and the time is now. The Stearns eagles deserve our advocacy, and the residents of Colorado, along with supporters from across the country, deserve a response. This issue has resonated nationally, underscoring its importance beyond Louisville’s limits. Will the Louisville Council listen and open a dialogue with the public on this matter?

Dana Bove is a member of Front Range Nesting Bald Eagle Studies, a non-profit dedicated to the study and conservation of Bald Eagles in the Front Range. Bove lives in Boulder.