(Tana Lamperes)

It’s time to become a part of the process! This is an issue that affects us all, the farmers, the public, everyone!

The Cropland Policy that is administered through Boulder County Open Space (BCOS) Agricultural Division is up for revision.

By developing an advisory board to help in the revision of the policy and allowing the public in on what’s happening through open forums and a large attendance, the BCOS is hoping for an ongoing dialog amongst the local farmers and the public about moving forward with agriculture in Boulder County.

The county owns around 24,00 acres with 45% of that being agricultural land. Revenues are $1.1-$1.3 million each year and are reinvested back into the program and the land. Revenues go specifically to crop share expenses, irrigation water assessments, improvements and maintenance projects such as center pivot sprinklers, grain bins, hay sheds, concrete ditches, fences, etc…

Our personal freedom, our land and water, our plants and animals of BCOS are all affected by these policies.

Anyone who is interested in eating food grown in Boulder County needs to attend to the process that is going on right now!

The Cropland Policy Advisory Group (CPAG) will make a recommendation to the County Commissioners soon.

Some important dates to attend:

Thursday, September 1 5-8 pm: Parks and Open Space building, 5201 St. Vrain Road Longmont, CO 80503 (map ) Boulder County Parks and Open Space Open Public Forum Opportunity for citizens to present their thoughts and opinions about GMOs on Open Space to the staff of Parks and Open Space.

Tuesday, September 6th 11-2 pm: GMO Free Boulder Rally at the Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street, Boulder

September: CPAG Meetings, BCPOS Office

October 19th, Cropland Policy Open House, Barn A Boulder County Fairgrounds

Fall 2011: Public Hearing with Food and Ag Policy Council and Parks and Open space Advisory Committee

December 2011: Public Hearing with Board of County Commissioners

Please find more details at: http://www.bouldercounty.org/government/pages/cpag.aspx

Please e-mail the Boulder County Commissioners

Tell the commissioners what you think about this important issue and what you want them to do.

Please e-mail Commissioners: Ben Pearl man, Will Toor and Cindy Domenico and urge them to attend the CPAG meetings to hear the experts and the public comments:

[email protected]

There are many ways to help get GMO seeds off of Boulder County Open Space Land! Get informed and get involved to get rid of them!

Here are some of the ways you can get informed in order to get involved:

1) Get informed: go to http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-basics/faqs or do your own research.

2) Sign the petition at: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/GMOFreeBoulder

3) Join the Big Boulder Shutdown on September 6, 11-2 at the Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street, Boulder.

Check it out at http://www.no-gmo-boulder.com this is where you can also track the local action on this issue.

Thanks for helping to keep our public agricultural lands free of GMOs!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 at 9:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.