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 removing an abandoned diversion structure which improved the habitat on the Cache la Poudre River. In 2014, the Natural Areas Department received TWO Blue Grama awards from the Colorado Open Space Alliance for their outstanding conservation work. The new video continues the story of this deconstruction and restoration project that we’d shared in another video last year.
How did we help? This project is yet another example of the Water Trust taking a supportive role, including raising funds for deconstruction of a physical barrier. The Cache la Poudre River encounters several challenges as it runs through Fort Collins – multiple dry-up points, invasive/nonnative species, and structures that impede fish and flow passages. Through facilitation, recommendations and fundraising, we’re supporting the Natural Areas Department’s conservation work for flow and habitat restoration on this vital urban waterway.