Upper Arkansas River instream habitat restoration project:
2020 annual site assessment

Upper Arkansas River instream habitat restoration project:
2020 annual site assessment

Monitoring activities to evaluate restoration effectiveness for the upper Arkansas River Habitat Restoration Project were conducted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and contractors during 2020 and 2021. Efforts were primarily focused on data analysis and publication of results for monitoring targets, including fish populations, riparian vegetation, benthic macroinvertebrates, instream habitat structures, and water quality. Some fish population, benthic macroinvertebrate, riparian vegetation and habitat metrics improved following restoration, although not all metrics have achieved target goals. Significant improvements in Brown Trout Salmo trutta density, biomass and condition were encouraging, but apparent declines in quality trout could be indicative of increased competition or limited forage. The abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates increased, but not to the level of project goals. Woody riparian vegetation increased significantly, and encroachment of riparian vegetation has outpaced bank erosion, which suggests that bank stability has improved and the channel is moving towards dynamic equilibrium. Multiple metrics indicate that ecosystem health within the California Gulch Superfund Site continues to improve.

Richer, Eric E.

Upper Arkansas River

Habitat restoration

1277 pages

2021-03-31

Text

application/pdf

English