City of Fort Collins: Wetland, River, & Floodplain Ecological Restoration Design-Build

An ecology-based approach to restoration and conservation planning is maximizing the potential for regeneration along the Cache La Poudre, an ecological and recreational centerpiece for the City of Fort Collins.

The City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department manages over 1,000 acres of open space along the Cache La Poudre River, including numerous former gravel pits that provide value for water resources, habitat, and recreation. In 2008 and again in 2014, Biohabitats provided on-call professional consulting and construction services to assist with the assessment, planning, design, permitting, and construction of wetland and riparian restoration projects. Project objectives varied and included natural resource protection, water quality improvement, habitat enhancement, and wetland and floodplain restoration.

Biohabitats performed vegetation assessments, hydrologic evaluations, and geomorphic assessments to help the City identify conservation priorities and restoration strategies. Biohabitats prioritized potential restoration projects in locations where water sources were most predictable and/or controllable; where there were opportunities to maintain and expand previous restoration areas; and where there were highly visible sites with partnering or educational opportunities.

Biohabitats designed, permitted, and constructed three projects within two of the natural areas along the Poudre River. These projects included the removal of flood-control levees to restore floodplain connection, placement of fill material in abandoned gravel pits to create wetland benches, and removal of an old water diversion dam in the river to provide fish passage. These projects created 10 acres of willow shrubland, wet meadow, and emergent wetland; restored 13 acres of riparian forest including native cottonwood regeneration; and improved one mile of the Poudre River.

TAGS

• Assessment+Monitoring
• Ecological Restoration