What’s Happening at Barr Lake State Park?

The leaves are still thick on the cottonwood trees at Barr Lake State Park, and enthusiastic birders can usually find something exciting around Barr reservoir: bald eagles, cormorants, white pelicans, snow geese (in the winter), many species of winter ducks and of course hundreds of Canada geese and many migratory birds. However many of the big, old cottonwoods along the reservoir’s east side have been removed. What’s going on?

The Farmer’s Reservoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) decided several years ago to store an additional 1,500 acre-feet of water at Barr Lake. In preparation, they had the State’s Dam Safety office inspect and approve modifications to the dam and spillway, to ensure the dam was sound. Unfortunately no one thought to inspect the dike that parallels the reservoir shore on its east side. In 2023, heavy rainfall plus the extra stored water caused several breaches in the dike, allowing water from the reservoir (stored by FRICO for its shareholders and to which FRICO has rights) to escape into the Denver and Hudson canal on the outer side of the dike, which – we think – carries water to which FRICO has no rights. They were losing precious irrigation water!

FRICO decided that the roots of the reservoir’s cottonwoods caused the breaches by providing conduits for water to flow through/under the dike. This water would normally be used for FRICO’s irrigators, and its movement into the D&H canal puts it beyond FRICO’s reach. Therefore their managers made the decision to cut down the big cottonwoods that have grown up along the eastern edge of Barr Lake, in order to prevent any further breach of the dike. The company began the removal in the late summer and fall of 2023, without notifying the public, the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and possibly not even Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Private entities like FRICO don’t have to consult with, or answer to, the public, even though in this case the work was damaging a valuable State Park into which a good deal of public monies has been invested.

Last week we (Polly and Gene Reetz) visited the State Park to see what the state of cottonwood removal had come to. We found that cottonwoods along the dike between the boat ramp on the north and the pedestrian bridge over the canal have been almost completely removed, except for a patch of trees around the Bird Banding Station. (The Station itself has moved to the Niedrach Nature Trail for the fall.) Photos taken from the area by the bridge reveal a large trench being dug parallel to the canal as well as tree removal. (see attached photos).

FRICO plans to enlarge the dike, widen the trail on top of the dike, and remove trees within 10 feet of the dike’s foot, from the northeast corner of the dam for four miles, all the way to the site where water from the OBrien canal enters the Reservoir. FRICO believes this work will take three to five years at the outside to complete. To their credit, FRICO’s managers have agreed to remove the trees during the birds’ non-breeding season, after August 1st., continuing until Nov. 1. We believe that public outcry, including a strong letter from Denver Audubon, has had some effect. In addition, the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, which has their headquarters at the State Park, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have been consulting with FRICO; one of their goals is to keep the footprint of the tree removal work as small as possible.

Barr Lake State Park will look quite different after FRICO finishes. Not only will the big trees along the eastern side of the Park mostly disappear, the extra water will flood heavily vegetated parts of the Park near the Rookery Gazebo (on the southwest side), submerging the roots of thebig cottonwoods there. We don’t know how long these big trees can live with their roots under water part of the year but suspect that they won’t survive long (see: Chatfield State Park). Thus even more of the Park will be affected than just the eastern side.

As mitigation, the State Park is planning to plant trees on the outside of the dike and canal, and trees that are far enough away from the dike are being left intact. This cannot completely mitigate the loss of the important breeding bird habitat in the cottonwoods but it is a start towards restoring and maintaining some of the habitat around the reservoir.

Colorado State Parks’ role in all this has been unclear. A State Park volunteer was the first to notice the breaches in the dike, and the staff has been in negotiations with FRICO about limiting the habitat destruction. The Bird Conservancy, also part of the negotiations, has been very willing to share what they know about the situation. We should all hope that agreements will be made that maintain many of the Park’s ecological and recreational values, and we must strive together to begin the work of healing the wounds inflicted o n this invaluable resource. The game’s afoot – loose talk of restoration on park land must now be replaced by resolve and commitments.