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<br />site at a greatly reduced price, around <br />$250 per acre. As part of the agree- <br />ment, Littleton granted Cooley Gravel <br />Company zoning approval for excavation <br />on another site. The city also gave <br />Cooley wide recognition for its <br />participation. <br /> <br />Seven ponds, formed by gravel exca- <br />vation, were sold to the city., Cooley <br />reseeded and recontoured shorelines <br />and areas adjacent to the excavations to <br />a natural shape. The ponds .are peri- <br />odically stocked with trout and warm <br />water fish. <br /> <br />Fish Habitat Enhancement <br />In 1990, the Corps of Engineers began 'a <br />fishery habitat enhancement program , <br />along the river in South Platte Park. <br />The private group; Trout Unlimited, was <br />also very active in habitat restoration <br />in the Park. These efforts will provide <br />better conditions for these species <br />to spawn. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />Nature Ce~ter and, South Platte Greenway <br />A nature center was established at the <br />park. Visitors may participate in <br />interpretive/educational progrl\ms or <br />explore a self-guided 'nature trail. The <br />park is also the southern terminus for <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />, <br />the South Platte Greenway trail, which. <br />extends forty-five miles through Denver <br />and its suburbs. <br /> <br />ACCO MPLISIIMENTS <br /> <br />ACQUISITION WAS COMPLETED in 1985, at <br />a total cost 'of $1.7 million. The park <br />land is owned by the City of Littleton <br />and is managed by the South' Suburban <br />Park'and Recreation District. The 625- <br />acre natural area runs 2.5 miles along <br />the South Platte River. The park effec- <br />tively serves a variety of compatible <br />purposes. <br /> <br />With the floodplain preserved as open' <br />space, flood waters can overflow harm- <br />. lessly. Flood waters' are temporarily <br />stored in the park, moderating the size <br />of downstream flood surges. <br /> <br />Two miles of natural stream channel are <br />now protected, pr.eserving aquatic habi- <br />, <br />tat. As a result of habitat improvement <br />efforts, this segment is designated as a <br />class I cold-water fishery, and. rainbow <br />and brown trout are thriving. <br /> <br />South Platte Park is the largest re- <br />maining example of its ecosystem on the <br />South Platte River; others were es- . <br />sentially eliminated by development. <br /> <br />16 <br /> <br />The park contains several examples <br />of vegetation from the transition zone <br />between the Rocky Mountainfoo~hills <br />and the high plains of eastern <br />Colorado. They include a variety of <br />hybrid Populus which appears to be a <br />cross between plains cottonwood and <br />aspen. The park contains six lakes, <br />three wetlands, a rich riparian <br />community, grasslands and 100-year-' <br />oId stands of cottonwood. The <br />wetlands hold sixty species of plants, <br />six times the number normally found <br />in Colorado's urban wetland environ- <br />ments. The diversity of habitats <br />makes the park a prime resting area <br />for hundreds of migrati!lg birds and a <br />home for numerous wildlife: white- <br />tail and mule deer, red fox, beaver, <br />coyote, great horned owl, heron and <br />other waterfowl live there. Bald <br />eagles occasionally stop over in <br />the winter. <br /> <br /> <br />The park is a popular recreational <br />area, for trout fishing, hiking, bird- <br />watching, and bicycling -- ~t attracts <br />an average of ten to twenty people <br />per hour during the, week, and forty <br />~o fifty peopl~ per hour on weekends. <br />The Platte River Greenway, which <br />continues from the park all the way <br />