From the Durango Herald (Dale Stode):
The west-side riverbank will get a full-scale makeover – a retro renovation – between Ninth Street and the Highway 160 bridge. The river and west-bank renovation project was announced recently when Durango received an $86,000 grant from the Colorado Division of Wildlife for bank stabilization and habitat improvement on that stretch of the Animas River. The DOW grant was one of the final pieces of a 3½-year jigsaw puzzle, put together through the nonprofit efforts of Trout Unlimited and the Animas Riverkeepers…
With Trout Unlimited looking for a hands-on project, and Animas Riverkeepers similarly seeking an immediate project, the two joined forces for downtown Durango’s river redevelopment effort. The groups raised $7,500 for a consultant’s study and the generation of architectural and engineering plans for the Animas River project. The study and the engineering plans became the foundation of the city’s backing and an eventual grant application with the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Fishing is Fun program…
The recently authorized mitigation project will address two primary situations, Churchwell said. First, the unregulated foot traffic in the area will be managed. Big boulders and rocks will be placed along the riverbank. Trees and shrubs will be planted. All of the dead trees and vegetation will come out, he said. Stairways down the bank to the stream side will direct foot travel…
Secondly, he said, there will be in-stream work that will help move the primary flow of water to the middle of the river. “That will create much better trout habitat,” he said of the installation of the “J hooks” (rock berms) in the river. “And we’re keeping the boaters in mind with this,” he said, adding that the in-river work will be boater friendly for kayaks, canoes, rafts, etc…
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.