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<br />29 <br /> <br />30 <br /> <br />The lower portion of the Dirty Woman Creek wa~ divided into two reaches, Dirty <br />Woman Creek west of 1-25 (DW-A) is narrow and incised through erosion of the surrounding <br />landscape. II is disturbed by road corridors and the nearby Town of Monument. Vegetation <br />includes riparian stands of cottonwood trees and wetlands as short, narrow strips of willows or <br />forbsandgrasses, <br />The lowerporlion of Dirty Woman Creek east of 1-25 (OW-B) is more open than DW-A <br />with a generally wide creek bank with good vegetative cover. The vegemtion ;, a good mix of <br />riparian shrub, scattered trees, shrun and herbaceous wetlands and floodplain grasslands, A <br />grove of mature planted cottonwoods exists next to an old iannsteud, This area has good <br />wetland rewurccs and wildlife habimt. <br />The upper reach of the main Dirty Woman Creek (UPDW-A) is in good condition, It is <br />much the same as reach DW-B with shrub and herbaceous wetland areas but Ihe width of the <br />riparian zone isnalTower and surrounded by coniferous forest and large lot residents. Locally <br />deer and some predators, cuyote and fox will use these areas along the creeks. Small mammals <br />such as cottontail rabbits and mice use the grassy habitat along the stream bottoms. Trees <br />provideperchesforraptors in this section and throughoUl the upper reaches oft he drainages. <br />The South Fork of Dirty Woman Creek (SFDW-A) is a short reach with semi-rtatural <br />conditions. A stock pond ir'tlerrupts the drainage and provides an area of good herbaceous <br />wctlands_ <br />The Middle Fork of Dirty Woman Creek (MFDW-A) is a narrow drJ.inage with wetland <br />Hnd riparian shrubs in narrow strips. Vegetation and habitat is in good, semi-natural condition, <br />The North Fork of Dirty WOT:'l;l.O Creek (NFDW-A) ha~ been completelY altered by the <br />County Club's golf course of seeded lawn, and several constn.lcted ponds Interrupt the drainage. <br />Little or no natural vegetation or wetlands exisl in Ihis reach, Waterfowl may occasionally use <br />the ponds artd short reaches of flowing stream in the spring. <br />The lower ponion of Ihe Lake Fork of Dirty Woman Creek (LFDW-A) contains a <br />reservoir which disturbs the natural drainage and vegetation. The outlet of the reservoir is <br />deeplyentn:nched and has barc banks. Some shrub and herbaceou, wetlartds have reestablished <br />to the nurthofthe reservoir in fill materials,andalongthe banks, <br />The upper poniun of the Lake For)... of Dirty Woman Creek (LfDW-B) is bi\e~ted by <br />Woodmoor Drive. South of Woodmoor Drive, the rea~h " disturbed by roads and residential <br />consll1.lclion. Some ~hanne\i7.ation has 'ot:en done ami vegetation t<,nd, to be we~dy. Th~ <br />veg~lation and habitat, in th~ upper ponion above Woodrnoor Drive ar~ generall>' in g()()d <br />~onditionandcould be maintainedorenhan~ed <br />Thc lower reach of Crystal Cn:e~ (Ce-A) has becn ch::t(lne!ized with dire~ted and <br />controlled flow in some areas, and used for slllXt irrigation of horse pa,ture. The drainage is <br /> <br />diffuse and vegetation is highly modified with lillle natural or qoality herba~eouS wetlands. A <br />small area of immature riparian woodlandS is present. The rea~h could be enhanced for wetlands <br />butison private property. and generally land use is notcompatiblcwit hwetlandhabitats. <br />The middle reach of Crystal Creek (CC-B) is al,o highly modified by channelization and <br />roads, A shon soction rurtning along and under Highway 105 has a concrete channel. The small <br />areas of tree:;, shrubS and wetlands which occur in the upper portion of this reach could be <br />enhanced for better habi\llt values. <br />The upper reach of Cryslal Creek (CC-C) is mainly a dry channel. A few stretches of <br />altered (grazed and/or weedy) wetlands occur in the lower ponion. Small semi-nalUral wetlands <br />o~cur in the upper portion, <br />There are no known threatened or endangered plant or animal species specifically <br />identified forthe:;e drainage basins. Peregrine falcons are Irnown to nest along ponions of the <br />Front Range, and this area is possibly within the hunting territory of this raptor. Migratory <br />waterfowl may seasonally use the reservoir in the lower portion of the Lake Fork of Dirty <br />Woman Creek, and may land un the small stock or constructed ponds in the upper drainage near <br />the golf eourse. <br /> <br />Preliminarv Matrix of Com;:eptual Altcrnativcs <br />The alternative planning proces, began with the evaluation of general drainageway <br />planning alternatives. Alternatives which are generally available when planning urban <br />drainagewaysindude: <br /> <br />1. F!oodplain preservation (do nothing alternative). <br />2. Channelizmion, using various material,and of varying capacity. <br />3, Detention,on-sileorregional, <br />4. Selective sw.hilization. and <br />5. Combination, of the above, <br /> <br />These ~on~epts were qualitatively evaluated for each reach of the basin_ The qualitative <br />assessment:; were made using the information gathered in the field. and using input provided by <br />the various agencie, and individu;l.ls who partlctpated in thecoordina tiutlln~diug;;. <br /> <br />Draina~ewav Svstern Alternativc' <br />A review of each drainageway alternative with respect to the evaluation parameters listed <br />earlier \Va, con(lucted_ Based upon the technical work. fie.\d VIsits. and meetings with Ihe <br />interested agellciesand individuals,the altcrnative drJlOage con ceptS havc been developed, <br />AltenlativeS for fluodplain and ~ha[\nd ,c<:tior,s have beel, evaluated and are \liSCllSSC-d below. <br />