Re: [cobirds] The New Chatfield State Park, Jeffco and Douglas counties

In the 70s, there was a push to dam up Waterton Canyon.  This led to the best bumper sticker I have ever seen:  Frankly, my dear, we don't need a dam.

 

Karl Stecher

Aurora

 

 

 

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From: "Joe Roller" <jroller9@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 3:45 AM
To: "Ira Sanders" <zroadrunner14@gmail.com>
Cc: "Tom Wilberding Boulder CO" <twilberding@comcast.net>, "cobirds" <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] The New Chatfield State Park, Jeffco and Douglas counties

 

"Chatfield" has gone through three stages:

Stage I, starting in geologic time, long ago, through 1975, when the dam was built and the reservoir

began to fill.

Stage II, from 1975 when water was impounded and the lake filled, until the recent disruptive engineering changes began, aka the "Reallocation Project". Those will be recalled as "the golden years" with much more habitat for birds than ever before.

Stage III, from completion of that project until some other project comes along.

 

When I moved to Denver in 1974 I strolled along the S Platte River upstream of the looming dam, through what would become the bottom of a big reservoir, dry shod, through dry farmland with a few buildings. No lake, no shore, scant habitat, not much, just the river.

I love Chatfield SP and the habitat that the dam and reservoir created, but try to keep in mind that BEFORE

there was a reservoir, there was a small river through dry land. Things change. I asked Thompson Marsh what 

he thought about the dam and the reservoir, and he observed, "When people move to Colorado, they like to 

have a drink of water and a flush toilet when they arrive." He recognized the reality of the situation.

 

My two cents,

Joe Roller, Denver

 

 

On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 12:16 PM Ira Sanders <zroadrunner14@gmail.com> wrote:

It's my understanding that the water level at chatfield is going to be at that high level maybe, and I repeat maybe, 3 out of 10 years. That of course means you're going to be walking much further to get to the water for 70% of the time.

Ira Sanders

Golden

 

On Sun, Aug 25, 2019, 6:44 PM Tom Wilberding <twilberding@comcast.net> wrote:

Driving around Chatfield today I wondered why are all the new roads, paths, and parking lots SO FAR from the water. Then I scrolled through the following maps showing the future water level, and see that it is very close to the new parking lots. https://chatfieldreallocation.org/project-map/

For example, the Plum Creek Day Use parking lot is shown about thirty feet from the water, not .67 miles as it exists now. When the water will be raised, where the additional water will come from, and how it will affect many trees which will be underwater, I don't know.

I think Chatfield is still a work-in-progress. Hope the final product will be beneficial to birds.

Tom Wilberding
Littleton, CO

 

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