The town of Alma, CO is north of Fairplay in Southpark and at 10, 578 feet, is the highest incorporated town in North America. Alma is an idyllic location with several 14ers nearby and more importantly for TU, the headwaters of the South Platte River are just above and adjacent to the town. Alma is a small town (less than 400 residents) but that is about to change. Up to three new multi-unit housing developments are being planned for Alma so the population will increase substantially in the next few years. The town of Alma and the Alma Foundation are planning a project that will consist of platforms and walkways in the Upper South Platte wetlands for both recreation and fishing access. They wish to create a multi-use area while also managing and protecting these important headwaters for future generations.
On June 8, 2018 a meeting was held to provide TU (Cutthroat and Cherry Creek Chapters) with key information for the Walkway Project, including a tour of the wetlands, a discussion of project options, and solicitation of ideas for improving the project. Attendees from TU included George Franklin, John Aaron, Peter King and Tim O’Connor (Cutthroat Chapter) and Steve Rozendaal (Cherry Creek Anglers). Jara Johnson represented the Alma Foundation and Tim Zingler represented the town of Alma (Director of Public Works). They currently have a contract for a wetlands delineation study (report due the end of June 2018) and they will soon be contracting with a small engineering firm for engineering design and review of alternatives. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has donated $30,000 and TU Cutthroat Chapter has committed $5,000 for this phase of work. Considerably more funding will be required for the construction phase, scheduled for 2019-20. TU’s Cutthroat Chapter is offering to help find corporate sponsors for that phase. Some ideas that TU provided include: giving these headwaters a “Catch and Release” designation to ensure a sustainable fish population; adding large rocks to the stream in selected locations to provide structures for the fish; and dredging the pond next to the planned fishing dock as it is currently very shallow.