{"id":11,"date":"2023-10-27T19:39:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/?p=11"},"modified":"2023-11-07T17:03:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T17:03:26","slug":"proposed-reservoir-expansion-would-destroy-treasured-bear-creek-lake-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/2023\/10\/27\/proposed-reservoir-expansion-would-destroy-treasured-bear-creek-lake-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed reservoir expansion would destroy treasured Bear Creek Lake Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Bear Creek Lake Park.<\/em>
Photo courtesy of Alison Tamborlane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By:<\/strong> Konrad Fl\u00e6te Gundersen
______________________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK \u2013 A beloved 2,624-acre park upstream from a small reservoir in southwest metro Denver faces an uncertain future as government engineers preparing for climate change propose to store more water here, threatening to submerge fragile riparian ecosystems in a push to maximize drought resilience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But people who cherish the park as an island of natural space for recreation \u2013 hiking, birdwatching, solace with family and friends \u2013 have organized a \u201cSave It\u201d campaign opposing the reservoir expansion. Over 500,000 people a year flock to the park, Lakewood park management employees say, including low-income and Spanish-speaking residents from around Denver who lack parks closer to their homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The park lies at the base of mountain foothills, along Bear Creek and Turkey Creek, and serves as space for \u201cwonderful meditation, embracing nature, peace, quiet, and beauty which feeds our souls,\u2019\u2019 said Deb Neligh, a Lakewood resident who visits almost daily with her husband, Dave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deb gathered along with other Save Bear Creek Lake Park members on a recent morning under blue skies, amid cottonwood trees radiating vibrant yellow and orange, and displayed anti-expansion t-shirts, posters, brochures and vehicle bumper stickers and magnets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Robert Raker (left) and Katie Gill (right), members of Save Bear Creek Lake Park<\/em>.
Photo by Konrad Fl\u00e6te Gundersen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Led by retired schoolteacher Katie Gill, they\u2019re challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Colorado Water Conservation Board proposal at the feasibility study stage, with the support of Lakewood officials who run the park and collect $10 visitation fees from visitors who enter in cars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government proposal would increase the water in the reservoir, which currently contains 2,000 acre-feet, by as much as ten times, adding up to 20,000-acre feet, according to the state and federal project documents. That\u2019s enough water to sustain, by traditional estimates, 40,000 households. The concept envisions increased water supplies for high-growth northern Front Range urban housing developments near Brighton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Diagram showing the potential increases of Bear Creek Reservoir.<\/em>
Photo from the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A dam completed in 1982 created the reservoir, for the purpose of flood control based on damages caused by South Platte River Basin flooding in 1965. The engineers call their proposed expansion the Bear Creek Reallocation Project, because it would shift the designation of the reservoir from flood control to water storage. Aridification across the southwestern United States amid global warming has led to a two-decade drought, straining existing water supplies for cities and agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time of increasingly frequent droughts, the Bear Creek reservoir expansion would \u2018\u2019address water supply and demand gaps,\u2019\u2019 according to a project summary on the CWCB\u2019s website. A maximum expansion would store 20,000 acre-feet more water, but state officials also are considering smaller expansions that would add 5,000 acre-feet or 10,000 acre-feet of water. Government officials indicated they\u2019ll consider public comments, as required by law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding the reservoir to the maximum proposed level would inundate more than half the park here, submerging heavily used hiking trails and picnic areas.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The riparian habitat here is home to coyotes, deer, bobcats, and birds, including hawks, owls, eagles and migratory species such as warblers. On many weekends, park officials say, picnic spaces are occupied before 10 a.m. and visitation must be restricted.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riparian ecosystems like this habitat along Bear and Turkey creeks are essential for wildlife, sustaining 70% of the species that the U.S. government classifies as threatened or endangered, according to an Oregon State University Extension Service document. Riparian habitat makes up about 2% of the western United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2019We\u2019re trying to speak up for all that nature that cannot be replaced,\u2019\u2019 said Alison Tamborlane, a member of the opposition group who often rides her bicycle along a paved route through the park on her way to work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Save Bear Creek Lake Park campaign has retained the services of attorney James Eklund, a former CWCB official and architect of Colorado\u2019s water plan, Gill said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign has attracted the attention of Gary Wockner, director of Save the Colorado River, who has fought dam and reservoir proposals around the West.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gill said she fears her group may have to settle for a compromise, having heard from politicians that \u201cmaximum storage is how we get to drought resilience\u201d needed as the climate becomes hotter and drier with periodic bursts of intense rain and less mountain snowpack.  Park lovers might have to accept an inundation that increases the water in the reservoir by 5,000 acre-feet, she said. \u201cElected officials don\u2019t want to talk to me if I\u2019m in that \u2018not one drop\u2019 camp.\u2019\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wockner met with the residents at the park and bristled at the prospect of compromise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gary Wockner with his dog, Joe, in Bear Creek Lake Park.<\/em>
Photo by Konrad Fl\u00e6te Gundersen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That approach becomes \u201cjust a matter of how good you can lose,\u201d he said in an interview. He advocates lawsuits, if necessary, to stop water storage projects, at least until water conservation is increased as a more sustainable alternative. North of metro Denver, his efforts over two decades have stalled construction of proposed new water storage reservoirs along the Cache la Poudre River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDefend your backyard. Defend the nature around you,\u201d Wockner said, urging preservation of natural processes along creeks and rivers that still can be saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2019Rivers,\u201d he said, \u201care like the veins and arteries of the planet.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK \u2013 A beloved 2,624-acre park upstream from a small reservoir in southwest metro Denver faces an uncertain future as government engineers preparing for climate change propose to store more water here, threatening to submerge fragile riparian ecosystems in a push to maximize drought resilience. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1756,"featured_media":18,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/files\/2023\/10\/bclp-alison-pic-edited.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1756"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/environmentclimate2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}