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ALONG COMES A
ero
River Restoration
High in the San Juan Mountains, nestled under 14,000-foot peaks, lies one of the most picturesque, clear-running trout streams you could ever imagine. Sadly, the upper Lake Fork of the Gunnison is poor trout habitat with few trout. Mining, man made structures, and failed water impoundments from the late 1800s changed the face of history for this spectacular alpine fishery. As an owner and broker of M4 Ranch Group, I have been blessed in so many ways, including getting to work with clients who can see past what is to what was, or—even better— what could be. This stretch of stream in the San Juans is a perfect example of what was and what could be.
Death of a Stream At the heart of this success story is a 160-acre placer claim, staked out in the late 1800s. In subsequent years, following the path of so many similar parcels in the West, it was subdivided into eight different tracts of land, each bought and sold numerous times. Mining development and water impoundments built to supply hydro power to what was hoped would be one of the San Juan’s premier ore processing locations, contributed to the stream’s loss of habitat. Typical of the time, the mining build-up was merely an opportunity for salesmen to hawk investments, stocks or options back east. Few of the regions ever saw real gold production or profits other than through the fleecing of long-distance investors. At the turn of the twentieth century, this locale was heavily improved with mill houses, hydro power, and a mining camp, but little to no ore was processed. With depleting investments and no significant gold strikes, the buildings slowly disappeared, board by board. The large water impoundment upstream held back water and gathered sediment year after year. Eventually the dam failed, cascading thousands upon thousands of cubic feet of water and accumulated years of sediment onto the valley floor. With the instant deposit of decades of aggregate, the stream lost its ability to maintain bank stability and deep water habitat. Huge deposits of sediment allowed the stream to move anywhere it desired with each and every high water event. Although it still flowed through a spectacularly beautiful location, the stream suffered from the ailments of the era’s mining history, loss of habitat and failed continuity of land ownership. Over the decades, it seemed impossible that this fishery would ever recover. Along Comes a Hero! Rarely are land investors willing to envision change and 70
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by Dan Murphy, M4Ranch Group
work overtime to make that vision happen. Fortunately, such was not the case in this instance. More than eight years and numerous transactions later, the new owner (who admirably desires anonymity regarding this project) has reinstated sole ownership of the 160-acre placer claim and added two additional contiguous mining claims. Now, with continuity of land ownership, the dream of stream restoration work has begun. The challenges are great. With a tract of land containing over
2.5 miles of private stream, a waterfall, three lakes and timbered bottoms, the owner is facing the hurdles of no stream stability, a heavy bedload situation and elevated aluminum levels in the water. River Restoration Magic The biggest part of a successful river project is to build the right team, beginning with the vital role of the hydrologist— what I like to call the river architect. Along with the hydrologist comes a reputable wetlands delineation team, several permitting agencies and perhaps the single most important aspect of the team, an able construction crew. You can design and permit the best river plans in the world, but if you don’t find the right “artist on an excavator,” your dream restoration project is likely to fall far short of the desired outcome. River restoration is iterally comparable to the whispering voice heard in the in the famous movie, Field of Dreams: “If you build
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