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Above, deflectors, check dams and random rock improve fish habitat near canyon mouth. Top right, sampling aquatic insects available as fish food. Right, bighorn ram roams canyon heights. A new recreational trail, six miles of stream improvements, minimum fish flows below Strontia Springs Dam and habitat management for bighorn sheep...these are long term benefits resulting from the Foothills Project. The ten-mile South Piatte River canyon between the old town of South Platte and Waterton is providing hiking, fishing, bicycling, horseback riding, bird- watching, picnicking and views of wildlife such as deer, bighorn sheep, bear and bobcats. Recreation is supervised by the U.S. Forest Service. A primitive hiker-horseback trail constructed by the Denver Water Department, in cooperation with the Forest Service, adds to the recreational potential. The ten-mile trail climbs from the Stevens Gulch area on the south side of Strontia Springs Dam and heads southwest high above the dam and river into an area not previously accessible. It meets the main stem of the South Platte River about one-half mile above its confluence with the North Fork. The lower end of the trail connects with the 6Y,-mile access road (the old Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad grade) from Waterton to Stevens Gulch. Access remains open to the upper canyon from the old town of South Platte. This trail follows the railroad grade about two miles downstream to the reservoir high water line. Minimum flows below Strontia Springs Dam, set at 60 cubic feet per second (cfs) in summer and 30 cfs in winter, provide a more continuous flow pattern. Structures were developed to provide cover and low-flow channels for trout below the dam to the mouth of the canyon. Experience gained through the construction period _ _.IiilliI "'~.;"~"., . ;r~,' -,' , '.2i\~ ---- J1 " when the Denver Water Department monitored a small herd of bighorn sheep may help stabilize this canyon herd and others in Colorado. The four-year study, costing $35,000 annually, was accomplished in cooperation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. A long range program for habitat managment to benefit the bighorns is developing among the major land managers in the canyon-the Water Department, the state wildlife division, the Forest Service and Martin Marietta. Revegetation of construction staging areas and road cuts has been accomplished as Foothills Project work was completed. Changes in the canyon were minimized by the siting of Strontia Springs Dam and road improvements from Waterton to the construction site. The dam appears in view suddenly in the last few hundred yards of the long approach up the canyon. Road improvements, especially widening the three- mile stretch from Platte Canyon Intake Dam up to the Strontia Dam construction site, were carefully made. Striking features of the rocky canyon were preserved where possible. The contractor was H-E Lowdermilk Co. of Englewood. Since no motorized vehicles are allowed for recreation on canyon access routes, the area remains a quiet favorite for many. The South Platte River Canyon, long a major water and transporation corridor, conti nues to provide a recreational haven near a large city. 1