At a Glance
Over a mile of the Poudre River through the heart of downtown Fort Collins will be enhanced to provide thousands of visitors the opportunity to swim, tube, picnic, walk, bike, fish, bird watch, and have a good time while the natural resources and wildlife corridors are protected and fish passage and habitat are improved in the river.
Project Description
Biohabitats is an integral component of a multi-disciplinary team, retained by the City of Fort Collins, to develop a master plan and design drawings for over a mile of the Poudre River corridor through downtown Fort Collins. The Poudre River holds an iconic status for the Fort Collins community. It was the original agricultural, business and commercial hub of the City and has evolved into a popular recreation and conservation corridor. The City manages the river corridor for its natural values and habitat, and for recreation, such as biking, walking, picnicking, tubing, swimming, and fishing. This reach of the river receives a substantial amount of public use and the City wants to manage its use in a way that increases the user experience while at the same time protects its high value natural resources. There are several constraints in this reach that hinder recreational use and degrade the natural value of the area. These constraints include two water diversion dams; areas of steep, riprap channel banks; and major road and rail crossings.
Biohabitats is assisting the design team with natural resources assessment (vegetative communities and wildlife habitat, ecological connectivity, floodplain and riparian buffer, and wetland/groundwater recharge areas) and geomorphic characterization of the river and adjacent lands. Biohabitats has established suitability criteria and developed the ecological framework for buffer widths and habitat zones that have been incorporated in the river master plan.
With a community approved master plan, Biohabitats is assisting the team in developing design details that will enhance aquatic habitat, provide recreational access, maximize ecological functions of the floodplain, provide fish passage, and natural river bank stability. Biohabitats also assisted the team in developing construction cost estimates and detailed construction specifications.