Consolidated Mutual eliminating wildlife corridor
Updated 1/30/23 with comments and call to action below
January 23, 2023 Lakewood City Council meeting showed strong concern from residents around the Maple Grove reservoir. Consolidated Mutual is moving a fence around the reservoir, resulting in elimination of a wildlife corridor. The new fence itself is not compatible with wildlife. The damage has already been seen. These changes were not communicated to residents, or sometimes communicated falsely.
Residents were present to ask Lakewood to coordinate with Consolidated Mutual in an effort to do better for the wildlife and fulfill more of the promises made to residents, who are also shareholders in Consolidated Mutual. For more information, see ConsolidatedNeighbors.org
A stag is seen alongside many other deer who are walking and grazing alongside the ditch that will soon entrap them rather than provide safe passage (per Colorado Parks and Wildlife).
Comment from those involved
LakewoodInformer reached out for comment from Consolidated Mutual with no response.
Consolidated Neighbors responded with additional information on the lack of transparency from Consolidated Mutual. For example, the Consolidated Mutual webpage has been extensively updated in the last two weeks to show their care for wildlife, but the old-growth trees have already been cut down without prior communication.
Regarding the fence, Consolidated Mutual promised to use the existing fence type but switch to a wildlife-unfriendly fence with no prior communication. Slides below from the City Council presentation, available online at https://consolidatedneighbors.org/presentation/
But what they actually used was different….
Call to Action
Consolidated Mutual is made up of shareholders. Consolidated Neighbors asks for your voices at the annual shareholder meeting, or contact Consolidated Mutual anytime.
The City of Lakewood offered mediation services. Consolidated Mutual declined.
A follow-up neighborhood meeting has been promised to be held by Consolidated, but it has not been scheduled or confirmed yet.
Other ways to get involved at https://consolidatedneighbors.org/getting-involved-2/