From the Longmont Times-Call (Amelia Arvesen):
Rather than running them through a chipper, the sunken trees recycled by Longmont Natural Resources will create habitats for the lake’s fish varieties so they can spawn, hide out and grow to eventually be caught, regional fish biologist Ben Swigle said.
“We kind of know how long an angler can cast their bait, so we set the trees just outside of that distance so lures don’t get snagged in the brush,” he said.
Swigle estimated that crews dropped about 160 trees in McCall and about 70 trees in Golden Ponds No. 2 on Friday. He said next year, they’ll drop trees in other bodies of water before rotating back to replace habitats in the two chosen this year.
“They have a four-year shelf life and then pretty much you’re going to have one big stick,” he said, adding the needles go first before the branches.
Swigle, who said he looks after all public waters between Fort Collins and Boulder up to the Continental Divide, said one bundle of trees could provide habitats for “thousands of small fish or a handful of adults.”
He said they stock McCall — a public 35-acre impoundment located at N. 66th St. and Colo. 66 in Boulder County — with more than 10,000 12-inch catchable fish every spring and fall. It is home to bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, wiper and trout.
The tree bundles tied to cinder blocks were perched on the shore Thursday, when fisheries technician Alex Wooding said they discovered they’d need to return with boats Friday.