C150347 Feasibility Study

• Contract/PO #: C150347
• Contractor Name: Greeley, City Of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 3
• County: Larimer
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

severity areas, due to conditions favorable to accelerated growth and reproduction, and release
from competition with native plant communities. In addition, the unintentional introduction and
dispersal of invasive weeds into areas disturbed by fire suppression and rehabilitation has the
potential to establish persistent weed populations. It is expected that most native vegetation will
recover if weed invasions are minimized.
There is an emergency situation for the recovery of native
vegetation due to significant threats from noxious weed
establishment and/or spread affecting natural plant community
integrity, wildlife habitats, and watershed values.
Wildlife: Critical Habitat or Suitable Occupied Habitat
The fire appears to have resulted in minor consequences to Preble's critical habitat and other
suitable Preble's habitat. As described above, the majority of riparian vegetation within Preble's
habitat appears to have been unburned or lightly burned by the fire. Additionally, where riparian
herbaceous or shrub vegetation was moderately burned or killed, this vegetation should grow
back within about 1 to 3 years approximately. This also should be the case for herbaceous and
shrub vegetation in the adjacent upland Preble's habitat zone as well. Some riparian vegetation
may be covered by ash and sediment during flood events, but this would be a fairly temporary
condition not resulting in long -term impacts to Preble's habitat. On private lands any proposed
treatments that could have an adverse effect on Preble's habitat will go through the proper federal
and/or state review process before treatments are implemented.
For the mapped lynx habitat, the majority of this forest area was killed by crown fire. This forest
habitat will take a few to several decades to grow back to a condition where it may provide
suitable lynx habitat. However, as described in the wildlife report, it's questionable how much of
this area actually provided suitable lynx habitat because it is likely that much of it was dry lodge
pole pine or single -story lodge pole that lacked dense horizontal cover, which is a key component
for lynx habitat. Also, the polygon of mapped lynx habitat was isolated by lower elevation
unsuitable habitat from the main body of both the Poudre and Estes LAUs. Crown fire in this type
of ecosystem is a natural disturbance process that ultimately provides different age classes of
forest for lynx habitat.
Based on the discussion presented above, it is determined that
there is no emergency for either Preble's or lynx habitat within
the High Park Fire area.
Fisheries
The streams that will see potential adverse impacts from post fire run -off events associated with
thunderstorm and overland flow events identified during the BAER process were: main stem
Cache La Poudre River, South Fork Cache La Poudre River, Buckhorn Creek, Bennett Creek,
and Young Gulch. We anticipate adverse post -fire effects to alter aquatic habitats and disrupt
aquatic life for three to five years. Recovery of aquatic ecosystems will occur as erosion rates
diminish and flushing flows route fire contrived fine sediment from main channels.
Because there are no fish that are threatened or endangered
found in the area within the fire boundary or directly downstream
that would experience adverse post fire effects, there is no
emergency determination for fisheries. Similarly, as the Arapaho
Snow fly is only a species under consideration for listing and not
an officially listed species, there is not an emergency
determination.
High Park Fire Emergency Stabilization Plan Page 14