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sloping (vane) arms which turn the faster moving water away from the stream bank and back in <br />to the center of the channel. These structures have proved effective on many river restoration <br />projects in Colorado in the past 10 years, and were used extensively on this project. In <br />combination, the rock vanes, channel shaping, rock riprap, and re-vegetation efforts have <br />addressed the 303D list components (streambank erosion and streambed deposits) for this reach <br />of the Alamosa River. <br />-~., ~_ ~: <br />,~ -- <br />. ~~~ «~ <br />_~ „ <br />S ~[f <br />~:9' . <br />. ~., <br />a, <br />~-?. _ "'' <br />:.. <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 3: County Road 10 in 2003, muck from Terrace Reservoir travels downstream. <br />Improving the health of the Alamosa River includes improving the health of the riparian areas <br />along the river's banks and floodplain. Although most of these areas are not actively used for <br />irrigated cropland, some parcels of riparian land are severely over-grazed. The solution to this <br />problem comes through landowner education and the development and implementation of a <br />grazing management plan. A grazing management plan may include fencing to exclude <br />livestock completely from the riparian area, it may include a more active approach of moving <br />livestock from one pasture to the next, or it may include some combination of both approaches. <br />All landowners within the project limits were contacted regarding riparian area management. <br />Some were open to the educational content provided by the ARWRF, while others were not. <br />Grazing management plans were developed for several properties with the assistance of the <br />NRCS, and eight landowners agreed to have exclusionary fencing installed along their riparian <br />area perimeters. <br />2.0 Project Goals, Objectives and Activities <br />2.1 Summary of Major Project Goals <br />The mission and major goal of the Alamosa River Watershed Restoration Project is to create a <br />stream which looks and functions as a natural stream while providing an environmental, cultural, <br />and economic benefit for the river community. The project will use natural materials and work <br />8 <br />