ERC News

Enhancements to the South Platte River through South Platte Park will start soon in an effort to support the life that depends on the river for sustenance and the community that enjoys the recreation the river provides.

The Littleton City Council and the South Suburban Parks and Recreation (SSPR) Board of Directors approved a concept plan in mid-December prepared by Ecological Resource Consultants (ERC).

Dave Blauch, Senior Ecologist for ERC said, “The plan we developed is a conceptual design for the ecological enhancement of the South Platte River through South Platte Park. The plan was developed based on the identification of limiting factors within the aquatic and riparian environment. Due to many surrounding influences, the channel is out of balance with its natural equilibrium and low flow conditions are one of the single most limiting factors within the system. The enhancements focus on those factors that would best improve the overall ecological condition.”

Since the construction of Chatfield Dam and the associated controlled water release, peak annual flows have been reduced from 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to an average of 650 cfs.

Littleton Mayor Debbie Brinkman said, “This is a very ambitious project but it comes with a long-term payoff. As custodians of the river we are committed to maintaining its health and vitality. Since construction of the Chatfield Dam, the river’s flow has been altered and we must make adjustments to support its fish and wildlife habitat.”

The total project cost is estimated at more than $4 million. Phase I will begin later this year at a cost of $433,000. Funding partners include: The City of Littleton, SSPR, Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and Trout Unlimited. The partners will explore additional grant opportunities.

Today, a skilled angler can catch wild trout just about anywhere on Middle Boulder Creek, from the headwaters of the Indian Peak Wilderness through bustling downtown Boulder. Until recently however, one would not have found many fish within this half mile stretch located approximately nine miles up the canyon from Boulder. Purchased in 1994 by Boulder County and designated as Open Space, Platt Rogers Memorial Park was originally owned by the Rogers family. At the time Boulder County acquired the property, the river was severely degraded due to a multi-year a sawmill operation, the construction and later widening of Highway 119, as well as floods and pollution. While the surrounding land was intact, the trout habitat was severely compromised and demanded attention.

Following on the heels of two other successful chapter projects, the Boulder Flycasters (BFC) Board of Directors discussed tackling another Significant environmental project within our "home waters" on either South or Middle Boulder Creek. After exploring different options, the BFC Board decided to restore Platt Rogers Memorial Park as the chapter's primary conservation effort to close out the decade. Tremendously excited about the project, but blissfully unaware of what was going to be required, Roger Svendsen volunteered to lead the project. When he asked if any of the BFC Board members would join the effort, all hands went up. This was an encouraging start -right away we had thirteen chapter members with a tremendous amount of experience and diverse backgrounds ready to go to work.

For years, the real estate world has been driven by an adage that the three things that matter most are location, location, and location.

As for fly fishing (or all fishing, for that matter) the long-term success of any body of water, in terms of its ecological viability and/or, (dare I say it) economic value—sport fishery, commercial fishery, whatever—can be boiled down to a similar mantra. When all is said and done, its about habitat, habitat, and habitat.

There are arguably few species so revered by fly anglers, and yet so susceptible to the devastating effects of ruined habitat, than trout and salmon. But some of us are just now waking up as to the habitat protection efforts that can and should be applied in order to keep us all in business, 20 years down the road.

Interestingly, most of the habitat-driven efforts in the fly/trout world right now revolve around protecting the God-given public resources we collectively enjoy. Enlisting on behalf of these causes to save and preserve public trout habitat is a darn good thing, for the retailer, the manufacturer, the guide, and otherwise.

But there’s also an aspect of habitat cultivation that has been woefully undertapped by both public and private interests. The truth is, it’s possible to take a trout-unfriendly environment, make some changes, and create a fly fishery. More likely, it is possible to take marginal water, and make a great fishery. And that’s exactly what Ecological Resource Consultants (ERC), an Evergreen and Boulder, Colorado-based consulting firm does.

ERC is quick to point out, however, that there’s far more to stream restoration and improvement than dropping a few rocks in the river and using a backhoe to dig deep pools.

Often overlooked by the angler in pursuit of the 10 pounders that lay below the outlet works of many of the State's dams is the impact that these structures have on the overall quality of aquatic habitat downstream. By altering the amount and pattern of flows in the river and cutting off the natural sediment load that would otherwise be transported through the river, dams often lead to poor downstream habitat. Such was the case for the Blue River below the Dillon Reservoir in Summit County.

The Blue River below Dillon Dam has long been one of the most productive and heavily fished stretches of water in the State. Never does a day go by, regardless of weather, without at least one angler trying to outwit the river's wise fish. The problem with the heavily fished section directly below the dam was that quality habitat was limited and fishing pressures in the few good holes was fierce. "During the summer months people were faced with the choice of fishing shoulder to shoulder with other anglers or finding a different stream to fish", said Barry Kirkpatrick, co-owner of Cutthroat Aanglers in Silverthorne.

Our primary goal for the project was to recreate prime trout habitat that would remain intact for at least a 50-year time period. With that in mind, we quickly realized this was not going to be a humble "rock-rolling" project. Dave Blauch from Environmental Resource Consulting (ERC), and a BFC member, completed the preliminary project design and prepared an estimated budget of $23SK which included cash, materials, and volunteer labor. The project plan called for significant bank restoration and protection, ten riffle, pool, glide sequences, 1,000 tons of boulders and cobble, 450 native shrubs and trees, 3,000 native grass plugs, 3,000 volunteer hours and the coordination of a dozen different organizations.