Save Chatfield State Park

Gene Reetz

Target:

Governor John Hickenlooper
State Capitol Building
200 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

Signatures:

957

1,000

We've got 957 signatures, help us get to 1,000

Petition

Dear Governor Hickenlooper:
Chatfield State Park is an important biological and recreational resource for the residents of the Denver metro area, Coloradoans in general, and out-of-state visitors. It provides vital habitat for breeding, wintering and migrating birds and has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. It hosts over 1.6 million visitors a year for a wide variety of recreational activities, relatively close to downtown Denver.
The planned Chatfield Reallocation project will destroy the heart of Chatfield State Park while providing only a very small, and very unreliable, amount of additional water. The Corps of Engineers has calculated that the dependable yield of the project will be 0. Reservoir fluctuations will be as much as 21 feet; 300 acres of riparian forest and 1.5 miles of free-flowing streams, both irreplaceable, will be eliminated. These impacts cannot be mitigated and will result in a net loss of resources.
Less environmentally damaging alternatives exist but have not been seriously considered. We urge you to cancel the project as now proposed and pursue these less-damaging alternatives.

Petition background

Chatfield State Park provides vital biological and recreational resources to Denver metro area residents. It supports breeding, wintering and migrating birds; 375 species have been recorded there, and Chatfield has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. The Park also offers highly diverse recreational opportunities to the 1.6 million visitors who come to the Park each year: birding, hiking, boating, swimming, photography, horse-back riding, balloon ascensions, bicycling, and running are just a few.
The Chatfield Reallocation project - a plan to store more water in Chatfield reservoir - will destroy about 600 acres (over 15%) of the Park's wildlife habitat, including mature cottonwood forests, free-flowing streams and habitat of the Threatened Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse. The extra water will seldom be available, only 2 or 3 years out of 10. Large mud flats will be created where there is now cottonwood gallery forest. This is too much environmental damage for too little water. Less damaging alternatives to this project include increased water conservation, aquifer storage and recharge, storage in gravel pits, and storage in Rueter-Hess Reservoir, which stands mostly empty. See www.saveChatfield.org for more information.

The Governor of Colorado has the power to cancel this ill-conceived project, since his Dept. of Natural Resources is the State sponsor.

We signed: Save Chatfield State Park

Alan

Fort Collins, CO

Tue, 2015-09-22 15:15

#947

William H.

Fort collins, CO

Tue, 2015-09-22 15:04

#946

Jessyca

Littleton, CO

Sun, 2015-09-20 13:15

#945

Edyta

Littleton, CO

Thu, 2015-09-10 23:59

#944

DAVID

MORRISON, CO

Sat, 2015-09-05 11:35

#943

Gina

littleton, CO

Mon, 2015-08-31 10:38

#942

Tom

Centennial, CO

Mon, 2015-08-31 00:33

#941

Sally

Littleton, CO

Fri, 2015-08-28 23:02

#940

Rita

Louisville, CO

Fri, 2015-08-28 21:35

#939

Cynthia

Centennial, CO

Thu, 2015-08-27 22:20

#938

Thank you for your interest in this issue. This petition has expired and is no longer accepting signatures.