Laserfiche WebLink
WILDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT <br />FORT LUPTON PROPERTIES, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO <br />olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), and sandbar willow. Understory vegetation consists <br />mostly smooth brome (Bromus inermis), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), showy <br />milkweed, poison hemlock, and poison iry (Toxicodendron rydbergii). Upland areas <br />bordering the river consist mostly of smooth brome pastures, grazed land, and planted <br />crops. Many areas adjacent to the river have been disturbed by human activity. Concrete <br />rubble, trash and junkyards occur along the river near old farms and industrial areas <br />between Brighton and Fort Lupton. <br />Big Dty Creek flows through the study area from southwest to northeast. Several <br />diversions occur along the creek within the study area. Vegetation along the creek <br />consists mostly of sandbaz willow, with reed canarygrass, prairie cordgrass, stinging <br />nettle (Urtica dioica), Canada thistle, and poison hemlock. Mature plains cottonwoods <br />are scattered throughout the Big Dry Creek corridor within the study area. <br />Several irrigation ditches traverse the study area. Some linear stands of mature <br />cottonwood occur along the ditches. Most of the ditches flow through heavily grazed <br />areas or cropland. Some fringe wetlands consisting mostly of reed canarygrass and <br />Emory's sedge (Carex emoryi) occur along the banks of the ditches. <br />Uplands areas vary greatly throughout the site. No native shortgrass prairie areas <br />exist in the study area. Some upland pastures, dominated mostly by smooth brome, occur <br />in riparian areas near the South Platte River. The majority of upland areas consist of <br />irrigated cropland. Prominent crops in the areas consist of corn, onion, mustard, cabbage, <br />and hay. <br />Methods <br />The overall approach to the project was to gather existing information and identify <br />data deficiencies in the existing data. After a review of existing data, a field <br />reconnaissance survey was conducted to gather missing data or verify and augment <br />existing data necessary to perform the assessment of wildlife resources. Field <br />reconnaissance concentrated on identification of the presence of habitat necessary to <br />support sensitive wildlife species, including threatened and endangered species, game <br />