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Paonia River Park

Goal: Developing a park and trail system to incorporate and balance the diverse needs of the public with those of local wildlife and proper ecosystem function.

River Park Now Open!
	What a day for water! After a sprinkling of rain, the sun came out to warm participants in the Grand Opening festivities. Several park patrons decided it was warm enough to jump in, even though they hadn't brought suits. Craig Lamberty, President of United Companies and Jim Blankenship, Co-Chairman of NFRIA, were on hand to perform the ribbon-cutting that officially opened the park on June 27th, 2006. United Companies donated the park property to NFRIA for public access.
Also on hand were members from the Paonia Kayak Club. Kayakers races, rolled, and splashed in the park's deep pools and riffles, demonstrating that we can boat the North Fork River in low water (at least in small boats!). There is more work to be done on the park and NFRIA needs your help. We're looking for a volunteer to head up a landscaping committee. Do you have a bit of time on your hands and some green on your thumb? Please give us a call at (970) 527-4614. A park patron enjoys cool water photo by Jeremy Puckett Fishing for fun at the park The Paonia Kayak Club races photo by Jeremy Puckett Smiley swimmer Craig Lamberty and Jim Blankenship cut the ribbon to open the park photo by Jeremy Puckett Toe-dipping after work Ice cream enjoyed by all   Thanks to those of you who made this event and the River Park happen! Delta Sand and Gravel United Companies   Town of Paonia Great Outdoors Colorado Lamborn Family Farm Friends Church Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) Schramm Foundation Quick Foundation General Service Foundation North Fork Trails Network Anonymous Allen Todd Shirley & Duane Smith D & D Robertson The Deanes Tim, Jenna, Ben & Autumn Michelle & Jack Redwood Arms The Schulz Family Joan Hicks The Justman Family Don & Fern Ridgway Denver Newspaper Agency Mark Paigen Tyler Moody Dolores Rumps Mark & Sheila Cooper The Stone/Silverstein Family Neal, Liane & Katya Dorothy Feldmon Styler Ela Family Farms The Bissell Family 3 L Bar Ranch - Cory Co. Todd Enterprises Dependable Lumber Jeremy Puckett Sven Edstrom City Market Brent Kerr Jim Blankenship Miguel Velez Frank Rice Maggie Shishim John Moore Jeff Crane Moni Slater and kiddos Sarah Sherer and kiddos Tracie Butler Lynore Styler Martha Grewal Paonia Kayak Club City Market Environmental Excavation

Park Background Information

There is virtually no public access to the river between the towns of Paonia and Hotchkiss. During community meetings to create a Watershed Action Plan for the North Fork in 1999, many local residents voiced their desire to have more access to the river. Ongoing feedback from the community reveals the overwhelming need for river access in the North Fork Valley.

Originally, Delta Sand and Gravel, Lamborn Valley Farm, and Powell and Martha Mims expressed interest in donating land or access easements to the North Fork Pool, Park, and Recreation District. These donations would be used to create a public park, which would begin at Hwy. 187 and extend upstream to the Paonia Ditch Diversion.

Delta County, along with NFRIA, received a $30,000 planning grant from GOCO for land survey and appraisal, facilitated community meetings, project coordination, park layout, and map production. A master planning document is the final product, with a park layout, estimated costs and timeline.

On December 19, 2003 United Company (the parent company of Delta Sand and Gravel) signed a commitment to transfer a 19 acre parcel of land over to NFRIA. The Association intends to restore the former in-stream gravel mine and use the land as a park for the purpose providing public access to the river. A total of 30 acres will eventually be open to the public recreation, and educational facilities will be available to North Fork schools.

Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Greg Walcher spoke at the signing ceremony, endorsing the park for recreational use.

River restoration and the construction of recreational structures, such as fish and kayak play holes, a foot path for fishing access, a non-motorized boat launch, and vehicle parking area, will take place as agreed upon by the River Park Steering Committee. Upon completion of this work, NFRIA will identify a suitable entity to operate and manage the River Park under a Cooperative Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding.

Topographic surveys have been completed, neighbors of the proposed park have been consulted, and park boundaries are delineated. The steering committee has agreed on a park layout and draft weed and trash control plans. The finalized planning document can be downloaded below.

Weed Free Days Update
In June and October of 2004, as well as September of 2005, NFRIA teamed up with Delta County Weed Specialist Webb Callicutt and Lamborn Valley Farm to organically remove weeds from the site of the future River Park.
	Weeds such as Ox-Eye Daisy, Yellow Toadflax, Russian Olive, and Tamarisk were removed by hand and by using heavy equipment to pull roots out.
The Paonia River Park Project Master Plan emphasizes the concerns of neighboring organic farmers about the use of pesticides and herbicides, and provides a non-chemical weed inventory and prevention plan. Weed Free Days are the initial effort at organic weed control and education on the park site.
	This is just the beginning of River Park volunteer opportunities. Weeds and trash on south side of the river were removed, but there is still an island and the north side to cover.
More Weed Free days will be scheduled in the near future. For more information, visit NFRIA on the web at www.nfria.paonia.com. If you are interested in volunteering, please call (970) 527-4614.

Download the Park Layout
	Click here to download a JPG file. Warning: this file is 3,724 KB

Colorado DOW Samples fish from the future River Park
Speckled Dace	On Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) Fisheries Biologist Dan Kowalski and a crew sampled the North Fork at the River Park to see what fish species existed.
Dan Kowalski with a healthy brown trout The results are pleasing. Several native species, some listed as State Special Concern by the DOW were found, as well as large, healthy sport fish. Stay tuned to the NFRIA Monitoring Reports page to get the official report on what fish species are in our river.

For questions or suggestions, please call NFRIA at (970) 527-4614 or e-mail NFRIA.