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STATE OF COLORADO <br />8i11 Owens, Governor <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br />nn Eaves ocvarn.Nm e~a=r.oven <br />' Jahn W. Mumma. drador <br />000[1 Brmdw~ey <br />Demo, Colorado 00218 <br />' Larry Rogstad, District Wildlffe Manager Aptil 17, 2000 <br />15?8 2Sm Avenue Court <br />Greeley, Colorado 80634 Phone 970.332-2143 <br />For ltitldlife- <br />ForPeople <br />Kates Scopel. Planner <br />' Ciry of Greeley <br />Department of Community Development <br />1100 10'" Street <br />Greeley. Colorado 80631 Re: Fast 8ih Stteet Feedlot <br />' Dear Karen: <br />You asked if I would take a look at the former Meyers Feedlot sae, recently acquired by the City of <br />' Greeley, and offer some suggestions oa how reclamation coukl enhance natural resources and wildlife <br />in the area. I have visaed the sae and was akeady faanliar with the area from doing hunter contacts for <br />' many years on the feedlot and the adjacent Western Sugar sae. <br />The property is located in the 100 year flood zone and in fact is bounded on the south by the Cache La <br />' Poudre River, OriginaIly the Lower Cache La Poudre was a plains stream with shallow, braided <br />channels, prone to periodic flooding generally in the spring. Areas adjacent to the river channel would <br />have included riparian grassland vegetation. wetlands and isolated stands of cottonwood and wr7lows. <br />' The bean was broad and could accommodate geak flows by spreatiing the water, thereby decreasing <br />velocities and forces. As the azea was settled, dikes were constructed along the river ht this area in an <br />attempt to contain the Cache La Poudre in a much narrower channel Areas behind dt7ces were also <br />' flIled to remove wetland, riparian habaat. The flow regimen in the Poudre also changed from a highly <br />fluctuating stream to a more constant flow. Due to agricultural and urban runoff the river substrate has <br />been converted from a sand and gravel bottom to a mnd bottom These changes in the river corridor <br />' resuhed in abating the character of the Poudre. turning it into a narrow, imbedded, mud bottomed <br />stream with erosive cutting during peak flows. In an attetrtpt to decrease cutting during peak spring <br />' flows, much of the channel has bees armored with a variety of different types of tiptop. The trend <br />along the River east of Highway 85 today eontinnes to be one of raising the levees more, and adding <br />additional tiptop in an attempt to `protect"businesses that have chosen to locate in the floodplain. <br />Obviously, the feedlot site can be descnbed as highly disturbed. Remnants of the old pens and paths <br />are still found on site. The ground is covered in varying depths by manure. Since the feedlot had been <br />' in operation for many years, one can assume that soils under the sae have high levels of nitrogen and <br />other agricultural pollutants. The River through the property has been armored with rmrap. Riparian <br />vegetation along the river is reduced to a narrow band along the riverbank. In addition to the Poudre <br />' River, several ditches cross the old feedlot. During peak flows these ditches, including the one that <br />parallels east 8`s Street, serve as overflow channels. <br />' D€PARTM€NT OF NATURAL RESOURC€S. Greg Welcher, ExectRi~e Direda <br />NALDLIFE COMMISSION, Chuck Lewis, Cheim+,an • Mark LeValley, V'ge~Chairman • Bernard L Black Jr., Secretary <br />Rick Ensrom, Hamper •,Philip James Member • Manenna ReRopoubs, Member <br />' Amok) Selanr. Member • Bob Shoerneker, Member • Greg Welcher, Non-Vding Member • Don Ament, Nan-Vdina Member <br />