Crews at Chatfield State Park have accomplished the removing of an estimated 6,000 useless timber that have been inundated after the water stage within the reservoir rose 12 toes in 2023, the results of a federal undertaking relationship again to 2017 that was designed to retailer extra water for Entrance Vary municipal and agricultural wants.
Guests to the park final winter have been disturbed to see massive piles of felled cottonwoods that died after their roots and decrease trunks have been subjected to extended submersion. In the course of the winter of 2024-25, 2,700 of these timber have been faraway from the west aspect of the park the place the South Platte River enters the reservoir. One other 3,000 to three,500 have been faraway from that space this winter, in accordance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“The west aspect is finished,” stated park supervisor Kris Wahlers. “Every thing that’s going to be faraway from that space has come out.”
Some tree removing could also be crucial elsewhere, although.
“There are nonetheless loads of standing useless timber within the Plum Creek space,” Wahlers stated a few portion of the park that’s additional east, close to U.S 85. “Over spring and summer time, the mitigation firm will re-evaluate and see if there must be one other spherical of tree removals within the Plum Creek space subsequent winter.”
Chatfield persistently ranks second or third on the checklist of busiest Colorado state parks, checking in with 2.3 million guests in 2025.
Gene Reetz, a retired skilled within the area of water provide administration who spent a lot of his profession working for the Environmental Safety Company, was dismayed to see the variety of timber that have been eliminated when he visited the park along with his spouse final 12 months. He was “shocked” to see nonetheless extra being eliminated once they visited the park final month.
He believes undertaking planners on the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers ought to have given higher consideration to options that would have decreased environmental injury to the park. He was lively in opposing the plan, which the Corps authorised in 2014.
“I feel a mix of a number of the 4 choices (that have been thought of) might have met future water provide wants very simply with out a considerably damaging undertaking,” stated Reetz, a Denver resident. “They ended up choosing this undertaking, which had extremely vital environmental impacts.”
In approving the undertaking, Corps of Engineers official Jo-Ellen Darcy known as it “technically sound, environmentally acceptable and economically justified.” Challenge supervisor Gwyn Jarrett stated then that the Corps labored with Colorado’s Water Conservation Board in addition to “15 water-use districts, a number of stakeholders and non-governmental organizations, together with environmental teams, by means of a extremely collaborative course of, which helped result in the approval of this complicated, complete undertaking.”
Additionally, can you set in a sentence about what Reetz’s most well-liked possibility would have been?” I’VE REACHED OUT TO HIM FOR A SENTENCE OR TWO. AGAIN, I JUST FELT LIKE IT WAS TMI SINCE THE APPROVAL PROCESS WAS CONCLUDED 12 YEARS AGO ]
The Corps of Engineers made these selections, not Chatfield managers or Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The land is owned by the Corps and is leased to CPW to be used as a state park.
Chatfield Reservoir was initially created within the Nineteen Seventies for flood management after a devastating South Platte flood in 1965 triggered $325 million in injury (in 1965 {dollars}), killed greater than 20 individuals and worn out many companies, bridges and roads in Denver.
As Entrance Vary water wants grew, the Chatfield Reallocation Challenge was initiated to repurpose the reservoir for water storage along with flood management by elevating its most “full stage” by 12 toes. Work started in 2017 and was accomplished in 2020.
The purpose was to retailer further water throughout moist seasons as a hedge in opposition to dry years. It took three years earlier than the South Platte poured sufficient water into the reservoir to succeed in the “new full” mark. That got here in Could of 2023 when the realm acquired greater than 9 inches of rain over an eight-day interval. Water ranges remained excessive in 2024, killing hundreds of cottonwoods and willows.
Cottonwoods usually develop alongside rivers and creeks. They’ll survive brief inundation durations, however not two years of it.
“No one was planning on them being inundated for so long as they have been,” Wahlers stated. “The water stage got here up in Could of ’23, and it stayed at actually excessive ranges — two years, at this level.” Water ranges at the moment stand at 5 toes over the “outdated full” stage.
Just a few of the useless timber have been left in place as a result of they supply chicken nesting areas and perches for birds that feed on fish, which embody the park’s bald eagle.
“We wished to offer that chance for so long as we might,” Wahlers stated. “Long run, these timber will seemingly fall on their very own.”
As a part of the reallocation undertaking, greater than 100,000 cottonwoods, willows and shrubs have been planted above the brand new excessive elevation line to offset the environmental impression of the timber that have been misplaced.
“Most are doing very properly,” Wahlers stated. “The plantings are nonetheless rising to maturity. They’re doing actually, very well for probably the most half.”
In the meantime, the Corps of Engineers is contemplating the same reallocation undertaking at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood. Like Chatfield, however a lot smaller, the Bear Creek reservoir was constructed initially for flood management. Now it’s into consideration for added water storage. Foes of Bear Creek Lake Park reallocation are hoping to get an replace from the Corps relating to its plans someday this 12 months.
Wahlers stated it’s too quickly to inform what impression Colorado’s extreme drought can have on ranges at Chatfield this 12 months. The headwaters of the South Platte are positioned within the mountains of Park County close to Fairplay. He notes that the winter of 2023 was a dry one — till that week in Could that crammed the reservoir to its new capability.
“We’re involved,” Wahlers stated. “It’s shaping as much as be a really dry winter, however what the spring and summer time convey, it’s actually onerous to guess at that. We’re undoubtedly ensuring we’re contemplating that, loads of issues we’re taking a look at for the summer time, operations and issues like that. However till we really see it, we’re not going to know for certain what’s going to occur.”
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