The South Arkansas River starts near the summit of Monarch Pass, west of the City of Salida. It flows down-mountain east, picking up several small tributary creeks on the way, streaming by forests and meadows, passing old mines and railroads, crossing ranches and farms before reaching the valley floor and meandering through housing developments and industrial areas until reaching the mainstem Arkansas River on the east side of Salida.

The Upper Arkansas Watershed Partnership (UAWP) recognizes the importance of the South Arkansas River as one of the vital streams in the Upper Arkansas River Watershed, and realizes many reaches can benefit from work to help restore the river’s natural processes. In time, the UAWP plans to address these issues from source to confluence.

Our first project targets the lowest 1.2-mile reach of the South Arkansas River on the south side of Salida.150 years of intensive land use and stream modification has impaired this target reach, resulting in a river that is straightened, channelized, and separated from its floodplain. The single channel runs shallow and overly wide in many areas. High spring runoff flows actively erode the stream banks, which lack sufficient riparian vegetation.

The 1.2-mile reach includes a number of private landowners, private businesses, a homeowners association and the City of Salida. The city, and the majority of other landowners, have expressed a desire for river re-naturalization and protection on their properties.

This reach includes a 0.25-mile section of river owned by the City of Salida and open to the public. This section is part of a planned multi-use development on a 100-acre parcel of land slated to include affordable housing, sports fields and open space. See the City of Salida’s Plan here.

All landowners are being engaged during the design process to ensure that the planned treatments on their property are compatible with their desires and land use needs. Through surveys, public meetings, and site visits the community will have an opportunity to provide input for the future of the area, including ideas for access and opportunities for using the open space. This input will be used to develop and refine the site plan for the area.

The UAWP wants to provide a holistic re-naturalization of the entire 1.2-mile reach, spanning private and public property lines, so that the resulting restoration is coherent, supported by the landowners, and yields an intact, functional river corridor throughout the entire reach. We envision this as a multi-benefit project that will enhance ecological health, diversity, and resilience; create opportunities for ecological education and recreation; provide opportunities for public and landowner engagement and participation in ecological restoration; and provide for wildfire protection and mitigation of post-fire effects.

The SARRP is a project under the UAWP, with project co-leads Collegiate Peaks Chapter Trout Unlimited (CPCTU) and Central Colorado Conservancy (CCC). The UAWP also includes the Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative (ARWC), the Upper Arkansas Conservation District (UACD), and the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA). Other collaborators on the project include the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program (NPS-RTCA), Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU), City of Salida, Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW), Chaffee County, and private landowners along the target reach. Collegiate Peaks Chapter Trout Unlimited (CPCTU) is acting as the fiscal agent for the SARRP.

For more information, contact Nathan Ward, Coordinator of the UAWP - info@uawp.org.