Work Completed

Phase I and II Construction is complete!

Phase I Highlights

Ground Breaking - Fall 2013

Construction began in Fall 2013 at Pumphouse Park, the beginning of the now half-mile recreation corridor leading down to the confluence with the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. One of the main objectives of this initial construction was to restore functionality to the Town of Lake City's Historic irrigation ditch. After repairing the irrigation ditch headgate, work continued downstream past the Lake City Ice Park.

Above: LFVCs adorable dog mascot, Star, looks on as the construction crew works to repair the headgate on the first day. Each boulder is placed artfully by Lake City's own, WEBCO construction team.

Volunteer Revegetation efforts

The LFVC engaged Lake City residents to be stewards of the Lake Fork River Valley by coming out (in the November cold!!) to help plant willow saplings-thank you to all our outstanding volunteers! By revegetating the banks with willows, we served to increase bank stability by utilizing the phenomenal root strength of these necessary trees. Dense vegetative cover on the edge of the river also ultimately creates healthier fish populations by supporting habitat for crucial macroinvetebrates that trout eat. Look at all our happy volunteers :)

Boulder structures effective!

A series of rock boulder structures called vanes, cross-vanes, sills, and J-hooks were used to make the hydrological design come to life. These rock structures serve to create a contained river channel with deep pools conducive to trout habitat. In addition, the previously inaccessible, eroded banks along Henson Creek are now much more accessible from existing public walking trails.
In this past summer's annual Ducky Derby race hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, the rubber duckies cascaded over rock structures down the newly improved stretch of Henson!

Above: (Left) A J-hook structure works to stabilize the eastern bank of Henson Creek just downstream from the Lake City Ice Park, and channel the river's energy toward the center. (Right) A close up of this boulder structure shows it's effectiveness at channeling the water to the center to deepen the river bottom to create a scour pool. Spots like this are ideal hangouts for many trout species.

Confluence Park Completed - Fall 2014

Phase I construction culminated with the creation of a new park at the confluence of Henson Creek and the Lake Fork River. Construction, artfully done by WEBCO Excavator Operator, Jerry Schultz, took about 2 weeks to complete. Prior to this work, the area at the confluence was a highly eroded, inaccessible pile of burped up cobble from Henson-this was actually an initial clue to our contracted hydrologists that the river was having trouble moving sediment through. The result is a new space which increases public access to the river for fishing and recreating, improves sediment transport, and reduces the risks of flooding and further erosion.

*Check out the slideshow below to see the sequential construction photos*

Channel reconstruction at Ice Park

Visitors enjoying the Duckie Derbie on one of our new structures

River terrace and recreational improvements at Memorial Park

Town of Lake City ditch improvements

Town of Lake City head gate improvements

Channel construction completed north of 8 1/2 Street Bridge

Interpretive River Trail (installed in 2017)

Project Costs as of December 2016

2008 aerial - berms on both sides of river removed