A local collaborative ecology project has earned national recognition.

A local collaborative ecology project has earned national recognition.

The Redbelly Dace Recovery project, which works to restore a state-endangered fish species to the local environment, has received the National Association of Counties Achievement Award in the Parks and Recreation Category. The project will be honored at the National Association of Counties Conference in July.

The ongoing project to restore the state-endangered native fish species to Boulder County waters started in Spring 2020, according to Mac Kobza, wildlife biologist with Boulder County Parks and Open Space,, or BCOS. The environmental project is a collaborative effort between BCOS, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Ocean First Institute and the St Vrain Valley School District, or SVVSD.

“While the overall purpose is to eventually restore this species to its original stream environment in Boulder County, the process also serves as an educational lesson in conservation for students as they actively participate in growing and releasing northern redbelly dace, under the supervision of wildlife professionals,” Kobza said.

Kobza’s project partner is also his wife, Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza, chief scientist and executive director for Ocean First Institute. The fish were originally intended to be housed in tanks at Lyons Middle/Senior School and the SVVSD Innovation Center, until the COVID pandemic closed schools. Kobza and Dr. McComb-Kobza, volunteered to keep the tanks in their basement while schools were in remote learning. 

According to Kobza, BCOS and Ocean First Institute worked closely with Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility in Alamosa to obtain adult redbelly dace and learn the best way to raise their young in captivity.

“Students at the SVVSD Innovation Center and Lyons Middle/Senior School are now working to care for and raise these fish,” Kobza said. “Despite the COVID pandemic and obstacles it has presented, the team has found ways to keep the project going and even managed a successful release of many little redbelly dace into the wild during the fall of 2020.”

Axel Reitzig, coordinator of innovation for the SVVSD Innovation Center, said the recovery project is an excellent example of how partnering with BCOS, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Ocean First Institute can empower SVVSD students.

“Students at the Innovation Center can apply their knowledge and skills in areas like artificial intelligence and data science to important goals like species conservation,” Reitzig said. “Through this work, students are actively co-designing solutions to challenges that affect our Longmont community, developing leadership skills and learning side-by-side from experts in these fields.”

Reitzig said the project will continue with the Innovation Center. The short-term goal is to successfully raise and release 3,000 or more dace fishlings by August 2021. The district will help co-develop curriculum to teach students about the fish and the importance of local conservation. Additionally, Innovation Center students will continue to design and deploy AI-powered technology to support county conservation efforts, including machine learning models designed to recognize different species of fish and monitor the progress of species restoration.

The National Association of Counties will recognize the collaborative effort at the annual conference in Maryland on July 9. The award is being given in recognition of great innovation and success in county government, particularly during the challenges of the global pandemic.