Progress Report on the South Arkansas River Restoration Project

By Nathan Ward, Upper Arkansas Watershed Partnership Coordinator

After many years of dreaming, and several years of work, restoration work on 1.2 miles of the South Arkansas River is moving forward. This project reach starts at County Road 107 on the south side of Highway 50 in Salida and runs downstream to the confluence with the Arkansas River. After the Upper Arkansas Watershed Partnership (UAWP) conducted several stream

Eroding river banks are one of the issues to be addressed in the South Arkansas River Restoration Project. This photo is from the City of Salida’s land slated to be the future Vandaveer Regional Park.

health assessments in 2020, this stretch of the South Arkansas was identified as the most heavily impacted section of the river, and the UAWP agreed to initiate a restoration project to address several issues in the river and riparian corridor.

The restoration plan includes  reconnecting the river to the floodplain where possible, recharging several small wetlands, reducing erosion, planting native vegetation, improving agriculture infrastructure, protecting the wildlife corridor, enhancing the fire protection properties of the riparian area, and providing venues for environmental education and study.

Within the UAWP, the Central Colorado Conservancy (Conservancy) and the Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CPCTU) are taking the lead on this project. This continues a long partnership between these two organizations to protect and restore parts of the South Arkansas

Members of Colorado Trout Unlimited visited the 1.2 Mile reach along the South Arkansas River while in Salida to host the state organization’s annual meeting in April 2025. Similar tours will be available to Conservancy supporters in the near future as the project progresses.

River. The long-term goal for this project is to restore the river and enhance ecological function from source to confluence.

The UAWP is also interested in fish habitat, and this project will create enhanced habitat along the reach. Fish habitat will be improved by putting more “structure” in the river in the form of rocks and logs, which will in turn create deeper pools and riffles. A small concrete dam will also be removed, allowing for better fish passage up and down the river. Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s fisheries experts believe the South Arkansas River will become an important spawning ground for the Gunnison River Rainbow (GRR) Trout which CPW introduced to the mainstem Arkansas because GRR are resistant to whirling disease. 

With a Water Plan Grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Salida-based firm, WaterVation, was hired to conduct the initial engineering and design for the project. WaterVation has completed similar river restoration projects throughout Colorado. Recently, they presented the first draft of the restoration plan (30% design) to the project partners, and we are now meeting with stakeholders to discuss the design, answer their questions, and address any concerns they may have. We anticipate having 60% design by mid-summer and will then start applying for grants at the state and federal level to start the actual work on the ground. 

This is an exciting project and we hope to replicate the process along other reaches of the South Arkansas River as well as other tributaries of the Arkansas River throughout the valley.

Contact Nathan Ward for more information - nathan@centralcoloradoconservancy.org.