Project Completed
Cache la Poudre River – Josh Ames Diversion Dam Deconstruction
How Did This Project Come to Us?:
The City of Fort Collins partnered with Colorado Water Trust to complete the due diligence, permitting, and fundraising necessary to remove the Josh Ames Diversion Dam, which impeded low-flows, fish passage, and recreation, despite being unused since the 1970s.
Tools Used:
Dam Deconstruction (Working with the City of Fort Collins, the structure was removed, increasing flood resiliency, sediment transport, fish passage, and opportunity for recreation.)
Project Partners:
City of Fort Collins Natural Areas, Colorado Water Conservation Board, South Platte Basin Roundtable, Metro Basin Roundtable
Project Years:
The dam was deconstructed in 2013. Click through the images to see the dam removal progress.
Water Pools above the Josh Ames creating a barrier to fish migration – Alex Hayes
Fort Collins, Biohabitats, Tessara Water, and Water Trust folks ready to watch the demolition
Machines in the River
Building the Coffer Dam
- Photo Credits: Alex Hayes, Karen Wogsland, Katie Leigh Layton, Zach Smith
VIDEO: Double Award-winning Project!
This video on our YouTube channel showcases the work of the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department’s restoration at McMurry and North Shields Ponds, lowering unnaturally steep riverbanks and...
Press Release: Video for Cache la Poudre River Restoration Project
Contacts:
John Stokes, Director, City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department, jstokes@fcgov.com, 970-221-6263
Amy Beatie, Director, Colorado Water Trust, abeatie@ColoradoWaterTrust.org, 720-570-2897
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Video Released Highlighting Cache...
Video Released Highlighting Cache la Poudre River Restoration Project
The Josh Ames Diversion Dam Deconstruction Project has been a key component of a larger North Shields Ponds Natural Area riparian restoration project developed by the City of Fort Collins...
Cache la Poudre River, Before and After
Before and after — what a difference two years can make! In March 2012, representatives from both the Colorado Water Trust and the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Program...
Natural flow restored on the Cache la Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River now flows freely past the point where the Josh Ames structure had been located. The bed of the river has been regraded and reconnected.
...
Duggan: Poudre River restoration takes out a piece of history
The tranquility of the Poudre River west of Shields Street has been disturbed in recent weeks by the roar and clank of heavy equipment.
One of a series of projects...
Josh Ames Site Visit
On October 3, 2013, project partners and supporters visited the Josh Ames site to see what work had taken place already and to see the Josh Ames Diversion Dam standing...
Breweries, Colorado Water Trust Partner to Support City’s Poudre River Restoration
Contact Information
John Stokes, Director, City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department, jstokes@fcgov.com, 970-221-6263
Amy Beatie, Director, Colorado Water Trust, abeatie@ColoradoWaterTrust.org, 720-570-2897
The Cache la Poudre River has been...
Ecological Restoration is Underway
From the City of Fort Collins: An ecological restoration project is underway at North Shields Ponds Natural Area! The project will create five acres of wetlands, lower the steep...
North Shields Ponds Natural Area Restoration Plan
The City of Fort Collins had been working with Biohabitats to complete the ecological restoration project planned for the North Shields Ponds Natural Area.
Sterling Pond and Josh Ames Structure Ecological Restoration Project
These documents created by our partners at the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department and Biohabitats provide a great deal of information about the larger ecological restoration project taking...
Removing the Josh Ames Diversion Dam from the Cache la Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River is the focus of an ambitious Fort Collins community vision to enhance river corridor and its connections with the community, local businesses, CSU, and visitors.
...Josh Ames Ditch: Cultural Resource Analysis
Tatanka Historical Associates Inc. completed this report for the City of Fort Collins long before deconstruction of the Josh Ames Diversion Dam began. This analysis was part of historical due...
Deconstruction Plan
To help with the deconstruction, CWT hired Tara Schutter, a structural engineer formerly of Applegate Group, Inc., now with her own business, Tessara Water. Tara surveyed the Josh Ames...
Early Ideas on Dam Deconstruction
The Josh Ames Diversion and Check Structure is located on the Cache la Poudre River in Larimer County, approximately one third of a mile upstream from Shields Street in Fort...
North Shields Ponds Natural Area Site Description
The Colorado Water Trust's efforts to remove the Josh Ames Diversion Dam from the Cache la Poudre River are part of a larger project. The City of Fort Collins...