Arkansas River Channel Capacity and Riparian Habitat Planning Study

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I r r j J 173`2 traders and small communities were established to supply the growing demand for vegetable and meat products as well as forage and grains for travelers, their livestock and eventually for the growing military presence. Some even commented on the potential riches to be gained from farming to supply produce to the miners rather than working in the mining districts (Steinel 1926:53, 122 -123; Ubbelohde et al. 1982:198; West 1998: 250 -254). After the 1862 Homestead Act as well as other factors many settlers were drawn to the west especially during railroad and agricultural land promotions that occurred, especially during rainy years (Eddy et al. 1982:17, 256 -257). Humans were changing the west and the farmers plow, although with good intentions "had consequences far beyond their understanding" (West 1995:97 -98). The U.S. Army compounded the problem and added hundreds of horses and on- the -hoof supplies that required forage along the trails and near their forts, which were located in prime locations (Steinel 1926:107). With all of this, the ecological system was more than strained and began corning apart, leading to a climax in social tensions with the Sand Creek Massacre (West 1995:40 -50). To compound the complex situation, "the monsoon" was over and a series of droughts generally held the region from 1849 to 1862 (West 1995:38 -39, 79- 81;1998:89 -90, 350 -351). By 1873, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad had reached Colorado and was poised to move up the Arkansas Valley (Betz 1986:52; Taylor 1963:319 -320). The railroad grade, of course, following the old trails that followed the river was constructed along the margins of the river's floodplain. To be near water and timber for crossties to construct the track and,, in the early years, for firewood required by the old wood/coal- burning locomotives was a necessity (West 1995:47 -48). In numerous places along the valley the railroad grade tends to confine flood -stage flows and restricts the river's ability to meander. The railroad grade also redirects side drainage from upland areas to specific culvert - and bridged locations. This has enhanced erosion in some areas. There are several records of floods having destroyed or causing damage to significant amounts of railroad track (Betz 1986:149, 1898 photograph; Nadler 1978:70, similar 1898 photograph; USACE 1970: D9 -D12). One 1904 localized cloudburst on Hogan's Gulch, a tributary to Fountain Creek, caused a catastrophe when a railway bridge located 8 miles north of Pueblo washed out causing an oncoming train to wreck killing over 100 people (USACE 1973:48). In the Arkansas River drainage area there were many irrigation water diversions established, primarily in the 1880s (Milenski 1990, see Weiland Irrigation Division No. 2 map [inserted as end piece]). Many were abandoned for various reasons while many of the larger canals, such as the Ft. Lyon, Amity, Fort Bent, and Catlin Canals, have consolidated and are still in use today (Milenski 1990; Nadler 1978:58 -63). "... along the Arkansas River below Pueblo, the earliest priorities [for irrigation water] range from 1861 through the 1880s" (Milenski 1990:6). "The earliest appropriation date listed in [Colorado State Engineer] Irrigation Division 2, March 31, 1859, is that of the Hicklin ditch on Greenhorn Creek" and the river and it's tributaries were considered to be fully appropriated for normal years by the middle of the 1880s (Abbott 1985:8). After the experiences of the harsh mid 19 Century droughts and the devastating drought years of 1888 -1897 many irrigators in the valley built upon the idea of storing water during the good rainfall years for use during the dry years (West 1995:38 -39, 79- 81; 1998:89 -90, 327 -330, 350 -351; USACE 1965:23). Many reservoirs were constructed, 17