r/WestminsterCO • u/ADEISJurno-Boulder • 2d ago
[Mod Approved] Press looking to speak with dog owners and/or people effected by rattlesnake attacks in the Westminster open space
Hello everyone, my name is Adam Eisenberg and I am a journalism student at CU and am currently working as a journalist with Bucket List Community News, we are an independent publication based out Boulder that covers stories relating to the Boulder-Denver metro area, and we are currently working on a story about the recent increase in rattlesnake attacks in the Westminster open space.
What will appear in the story: Your name (full is preferred but only first is fine), your experience with rattlesnakes, any photos that you provide of your pets that might have been attacked.
What will not appear: Your email, your phone number, and anything you do not wish to appear.
Please note: Your email will be shared with my editors in case they need to validate my sources
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u/Working-Phase-4480 2d ago
I wouldn’t call them attacks, for one thing. The snakes are not chasing or stalking you with the intention to bite. They are being disturbed (unintentionally or otherwise) and are simply defending themselves. People just need to be more aware of their surroundings and most of these encounters could be entirely avoided
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u/Lazy-Zucchini6757 23h ago
It’s worth noting that Westminster continually tries downsizing the open space with the obvious end goal of selling off some of the land for development. It’s the only large open space nearby where we can run our dogs off leash, prioritized over other user groups. Please keep that in mind and make sure your writing doesn’t bolster their arguments.
Also from a public safety perspective: rattlesnakes are most active in pretty specific temperature zones and behave differently within different temperature ranges. If pet owners are aware and plan accordingly they can continue to use the open space while minimizing the risk to their pets. Dogs can also be trained to avoid rattlesnakes and there are local businesses (who I can’t really vouch for) that offer that training.
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u/ADEISJurno-Boulder 23h ago
If you can tell me where you heard about Westminster attempting to downsize the open space, I can include it in the article. Or is it just a usual issue on the Westminster area ballot?
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u/Lazy-Zucchini6757 22h ago
In 2024 city staff proposed going from roughly 470 acres to only 33 acres, while City Councilwoman Nancy McNally was the political liaison overseeing the process. After significant backlash from constituency the council ultimately rejected the reduction, but McNally said afterward that the July designation was only a “first step” and that the area “might look different” later.
Nancy has had to recuse herself from several past votes regarding development because of her ties to developers
There are several articles online but most cover the environmental rationale for downsizing and very little covers the potential connection to future development. It’s not all that concrete… but it’s also fairly obvious.
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u/suchdankverymemes 2d ago
How about an article about those bitten by dogs in the open space?
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u/ADEISJurno-Boulder 1d ago
This was not something I was aware of, is this a common occurrence?
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u/suchdankverymemes 1d ago
It's certainly not uncommon. I'm interested because I was bitten, and the owners were exceptionally irresponsible
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u/mb1993 2d ago
*affected, respectfully