Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2022 05 11

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes April 13, 2022 Page 3 of 5 of purpose. Deb recommended getting lots of people together for more political clout, if Ben would like to see a bike -specific facility. 8. Update Item: Regis University Coal Creek Biodiversity Study. Presented by Rabie Barka and Chelsea Huck. Chelsea and Rabie presented their study. They worked with Steve Roels, the city senior naturalist and their faculty advisors. They sampled three sites along Coal Creek to look for good biological indicator organisms (macro i nve rte brates and fishes) and physical habitat indicators (depth, ripples and runs, high percentage of canopy cover, and large sediment size for microhabitats). Their three sites were at the Golf Course at Dillon, near Dutch Creek Open Space, and the CTC Open Space. When they compared their data against Colorado state standards, they found that Coal Creek met the standards of Attainment. Fish species richness had increased over previous samples. The most prevalent item was the Northern crayfish, an invasive species and predator of other fish. The Dutch Creek site was the shallowest, driest, and most shaded. The found that the sites are meeting standards and recommended preventing future degradation, and continuing to monitor the stream. They are planning to do a follow up study to look at the impact of the Marshall Fire to the Coal Creek Trail. Susan asked if it was ecologically significant that the Dutch Creek segment of Coal Creek can sometimes dry out entirely over the summer. The researchers thought it was possibly due to the heavy canopy cover's trees using the water. Peter asked if there was stream gauging information for the creek. They thought there was not, or they didn't know about it. He thought it would be helpful to pair flow measurements with the observations. Susan asked if they would be measuring heavy metals or other possible fire pollutants this summer. They answered that this group would not be, but other researchers were planning to look at the fire's impact on stream chemistry. Susan asked about pesticide use at the Golf Course and whether it might be significant to the stream's health. They answered that they didn't look at that issue specifically, but they thought any impacts would be felt along the stream. 9. Update Item: Marshall Fire Update. Presented by Ember Brignull, Acting Deputy Director for Parks and Open Space. Staff is working on making a more detailed map of the Marshall Fire's extent and intensity. The city received no bids for the fencing replacement RFP and staff is working to figure out why. They are exploring scaling the project up or down to see if smaller or larger projects are more appealing. They are also looking whether the DOLA fence rebuilding could be done in-house, as this is clearly the citizen's highest priority. Peter asked if staff had explored fire- resistant fencing. Ember replied that fencing standards in the city are complicated. Also, staff are considering whether volunteers could play a role in this work. Jessamine asked about wood availability. Ember said she is anticipating that there would be delays relating to procurement. 5