Report of Field Examination Proposed Cherry Creek Watershed Project

Home Browse Search

that the actual area involved does not exceed 10,000 acres and other sources, such as land use and cover type maps of Douglas and El Paso Counties, seem to corroborate this opinion. 2. Ownership and Tenur. The entire area of the proposed project (246,400 acres) is under private control, being all owned or state school laxid under lease to private operators with the exception of 150 acres of Federal land. The actual area of state land is about six sections of land. 3. Watershed ProNgem These are well covered it the application. This part -y also calls attention to the fact that this area has had four years of drought which has intensified existing problems of proper use of land, grass management, and forest manage- ment. The present seagon is a continuation of moisture deficiency to date of May 1, 19550 4 o Project Objectives There are 199 operating units within the Cherry Creels SCD and 176 of these are under cooperative agreement with the SCD and these cooperative agree- ments cover 133,676 acres. (130,579 acres in basic agreements.) There are about 15 operating un t. in the W Plum and W. Arapahoe SCD portions of the watershed. Seven are under cooperative agreement. It is estimated that about 40% of the needed conservation treatment on farms and ranches has been carried out. 5 Effect of Praiect Outside the Watershed The party recognizes that a majoi flood control dam was completed in 1950 by the Army Engineers to protect the city of )Denver from floods originating on this drainage. The north boundary line of this project comes within about two miles of this dam. The maximum operating pool area of the dam (185,000 acre feet) would inundate an estimated 200 to 300 acres within the project area. It is pointed out that upstream flood prevention would reduce the speed of sedimentation in this detention reservoir. At the same time no claim of damage reduction below the dam can be masse. It appears that all benefits except reduction of sedimentation and damage prevention to this dam are locally identifiable within the boundaries of the project. 6. Other Programs E2r . 2s= Conditions and bloods Forest Service representatives Robert L. Dunstan and Jack 'McNutt accompanied they Soil Conservation Service representatives one day of this trip for the purpose of determining the problems on the forested land, the kind of forestry meam=es which might be planned, and the extent the Forest Service might par- ticipate in the program. No attempt was made to determine all of the measures which will be needed nor exact quantities and costs. Most of the watershed was covered and the information and recommendations fallow: