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Jun 05
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Eastman Park River Experience | Paddling

6 Ways to Play It Safe on the Poudre River

By Uncategorized

The sun is out, and the water is calling. However, it is important to remember one of our most beloved places to recreate in the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage area is still a force of nature. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Cache la Poudre River in Fort Collins was flowing at a discharge rate (the volume of water moving down the river per unit of time) of 627 ft3/s as of May 29, 2024, at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. An hour earlier the flow rate was down to 197 ft3/s. This constant fluctuation is one of the major reasons it is so important to be prepared when recreating on the river.

Remember to have fun and Play it Safe on the Poudre!

1. Wear proper safety equipment.

  1. Use proper flotation devices
    1. Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs), or life jackets, can be purchased at local places within the heritage area. Find suggestions for places to shop under resources. Life vests will be provided at all whitewater rafting locations.
  2. Wear shoes
    1. Proper shoes provide foot protection and traction. When entering and exiting the river, the rocks on the riverbed will be slippery and potentially sharp. Sturdy shoes will also protect your feet from various hazards such as rocks, sharp objects, and debris.
  3. Wear a helmet
    1. If you do fall into the water, a helmet will protect your melon.
  4. Don’t tie anything to yourself or your tube
    1. Why? If you flip, it could get caught between the rocks on the riverbed. It could also get caught on a passing tree branch and flip the tube.

2. Is it safe to go?

  1. Know the weather and water conditions
    1. Check the water conditions using the RMA Poudre Rock Report linked below.
  2. This water is melted snow – it’s ALWAYS cold!
  3. Avoid logs, branches, rocks and debris
By Terry Walsh
By Terry Walsh

3. Know where you are.

  1. Take a map. Maps can be found at the physical locations listed below or you can download a digital version.
  2. Plan your take-out location before you get in so you don’t get stuck without an exit strategy.

4. Float Sober, Float Safe

  1. Alcohol and drugs impair judgement

5. Be Courteous

  1. Pack it in; pack it out
  2. Share the river
  3. If you flip, be aware that you may be on private property when you make it to shore.
    1. Note: The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area does not own nor manage land within the heritage area. This means that if you flip and get to shore, you may end up on private property. Remember to always know where you are and respect the landowner’s property.

6. What if you flip?

  1. Don’t stand up in the river; avoid foot entrapment.
  2. Float on your back with your feet pointing downstream and toes out of the water.
  3. Take a whistle and a drybag.
  4. Use your arms to paddle to shore.
Walsh_Terry_3 Header
Eastman Park River Experience | Paddling

Information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey is provisional and subject to revision. Images provided by photographer Terry Walsh and the Town of Windsor.

Jan 22
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Just Add Water: Pre-settlement Water, Land, People Relationships in the Poudre River Valley

By Historic Stories

The Poudre River’s recorded history, prior to gold seekers and settlers arriving in the late 1850s and early 1860s, is scarce.  There were fur trappers’ and explorers’ writings of the area, but these were very limited regarding the Poudre River.  It was during this period that the river obtained its name, but the exact reasons and timing are uncertain.  It is generally agreed that fur traders/trappers needed to stash some of their supplies (including gun powder – in French it becomes ‘Cache la Poudre’), for a short time, during the 1820s or 1830s, for some reason, and the river was named for this action. 

As gold seekers and settlers encountered the Poudre River Valley in the mid-1800s, I often wonder what they saw.  We know that the river today is not like the natural stream before it was adapted to support permanent settlement of large numbers of people.   

Before permanent settlement in the Poudre River valley, the river meandered in a shallow, braided fashion through the bottomlands.  Each spring, runoff flooded (i.e. ‘irrigated’) the valley bottomlands in such a manner that there was an excellent stand of native grasses growing across the valley floor from the mouth of the canyon to the mouth of the river, east of Greeley.  One place, open to the public, to visualize this low, flat, bottomlands is the Arapaho Bends Natural Area.  As you stand near the remains of the Strauss Cabin, you can gaze across the valley floor (removing Rigden Reservoir from visualization) toward the west and see the bluff with Ziegler Road on top.  Look east to the bluff where I-25 is now located with the town of Timnath on the east side of the interstate.  Looking upstream the valley widens as the Box Elder Creek enters the Poudre River.  Imagine the entire bottomland area covered with native grasses and trees growing along the river meandering through the valley. 

The lushness of grasses drew buffalo into the valley.  It becomes rather obvious why the Native Americans used the area to camp – food, water, fuel – all in abundance.  Just north of the Strauss Cabin, across the railroad tracks, is where the Council Tree was located.  Large numbers of Native Americans could camp in the vicinity to ‘Council’, as the early setters called Native American gatherings, – i.e. transact business, socialize, and conduct ceremonies – while living comfortably on the resources provided by the river. 

This lushness did not escape the attention of earlier settlers to the area.  George Strauss (1858) and Benjamin Eaton (1859), traveling through the area on other missions, noted the lushness and both returned to settle in the valley when their missions were completed.  The Coy family decided to over-winter in the valley on their way to California in 1862, but did not continue their trip when spring arrived.  The Valley is a beautiful place where many people, over the years, have chosen to settle. 

The Northern Arapaho, under the leadership of ‘Chief’ Friday, were the last band of Native Americans to live/visit the Poudre River Valley, being forced out in the late 1860s.  Before leaving, they requested a reservation on the north bank of the Poudre River, on which to live, but were denied.  Friday’s band eventually was assigned to live on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. 

References:

Silkensen, G. 1993. South Platte River Observations: Historical Clues to the Evolution of a River’s Ecology. Published in the Proceedings of the 1992 South Platte Conference, Information Series Number 72, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, pages 41-56. http://www.cwi.colostate.edu/publications/IS/72.pdf

Simmons, Marc. 2004. Friday: the Arapaho Boy – a Story from History. Children of the West Series, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 

Burris, Lucy. 2006. People of the Poudre: An Ethnohistory of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, AD 1500-1880. (Published through a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service, Friends of the Poudre, and the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area)

Jul 01
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Learning in Our Watershed Solo Field Trips – Call for Educators!

By News
To Our Local Educators:

Even if classrooms or buses are closed this school year due to the pandemic, the Poudre Heritage Alliance still wants local students to have the opportunity to explore the history and environment of the Cache la Poudre River Heritage Area, but we need your help!

We are looking to hire four educators to develop curriculum for self-guided field trips along the Poudre Trail. Any K-12 educators in Weld and Larimer Counties are welcome to apply. Each educator will receive a stipend of $1,000.

Please see the attached flyer or visit the Learning in Our Watershed page for more information about the solo field trip program and how to apply. Applications are due on Friday, July 10. Feel free to share this opportunity with any other educators who you think might be interested.
If you have any questions, please contact Vanessa Selwyn at admin@poudreheritage.org.

 

Jun 19
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Learning in Our Watershed Program Reaches & Inspires Thousands of Students in 2019

By News

Learning in Our Watershed 2019 Impact

Many questions arise as to what happens when a generation grows up disconnected from its historical, natural and cultural heritage – such as, who will be the future stewards of our national parks and heritage areas? Who will be the keepers of “America’s story?”

Learning in Our Watershed™ has been designed with these questions in mind. The Poudre Heritage Alliance provides grant funds and curriculum support to K-12 teachers in Larimer and Weld Counties for student field trips to the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area. Our mission is simple – to help youth understand and value the Poudre River and their water heritage, ensuring a next generation of river stewards. Learning in Our Watershed™ covers a range of topics from water quality and management, to invasive species, agriculture, wildlife, Native American history, early European settlers, healthy ecosystems, and much more.

Thank you to Rotary Club of Fort Collins, the National Park Service, and the National Park Foundation for supporting the Learning in Our Watershed program. During the 2018-2019 school year, these program partners help fund 36 field trips to the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage and its partner sites, which had a total impact on over 3,000 students!

We encourage field trips that foster the study of water law history and water development and develop an understanding of place, the natural and human resources that we use and conserve.

 

Stay tuned for information regarding grants for the 2019/2020 school year! We will make an announcement when funding becomes available. To learn more about the Learning in Our Watershed program click here.

Apr 04
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Heritage Culturalist Training 2018 – Sign up now!

By News

Poudre Heritage Alliance Prepares for Third Straight Ambassador Training Program

The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) is announcing the third iteration of its Heritage Culturalist Program (HCP) – a robust volunteer training and educational program that highlights the importance of the Poudre River. This year’s training will take place over two and a half days from May 17-19. For the second straight year, the program is paid for in part by a State Historical Fund grant from History Colorado, the Colorado Historical Society.

Currently 29 people have gone through the Poudre Heritage Alliance’s (PHA) Heritage Culturalist program over the last two years. The HCP is free to sign up and participate, but spots are limited. The training features classroom and field learning sessions led by local historians, authors, and experts in the field of history and historic preservation. The training focuses on the history of the Poudre River and how western water law and settlement in northern Colorado was and continues to be shaped by the events related to the use of the river and its water. Interested individuals and organizations can go online to learn more and sign up: https://poudreheritage.org/heritage-culturalist-volunteers/ (Applications are due by April 30. 2018)

Judy Firestien, family owner of the Von Trotha-Firestien Historic Farm at Bracewell, who went through 2017 training, has this to say about the program: “The Heritage Area is so special to me because a portion of our farm lies within the Heritage Area and I have many fond childhood memories of times along the river, mostly exploring with my dog, Duke. I became a volunteer with CALA to further solidify the knowledge I have gained over the past years with regard to the history of the area, water history and water law, and historic preservation. I hope to further use this knowledge on our farm to educate the public on history, water, and how awesome PHA is and to inspire and encourage people to learn more!”

Following the training, the volunteers engage in self-guided learning through individual exploration of the CALA and group projects focused on one of the six historical sites that were visited during the training. The 2018 training will include site visits to the Eaton House in Windsor; the Lake Canal and Arthur’s Ditch in Fort Collins; the Greeley #2 Ditch and Diversion structure; and the Delph Carpenter House and White Plumb Farm in Greeley. (For a listing of the speakers at this year’s training, see attached.)

Community members in Larimer and Weld counties with a passion for learning and sharing the history of the Poudre River are encouraged to apply by going online: https://poudreheritage.org/heritage-culturalist-volunteers/. The dates for this year’s training will be the afternoon on Thursday May 17 through Saturday May 19.

For more information about the Heritage Culturalist Program please contact Jordan Williams at 970-295-4851 or programs@poudreheritage.org.

Speakers at 2018 training (in-progress):

  • Kathleen Benedict, PHA Executive Director
  • Bob Overbeck, City of Fort Collins Councilman, PHA Board Chairperson
  • Ron Sladek, President of Historic Larimer County and Tatanka Historical Associates
  • Peggy Ford Waldo, Greeley Museums Development Curator and Weld County Genealogical Society President
  • Margo Carlock, Executive Director, National Association for Interpretation
  • Justice Greg Hobbs, Associate Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (retired), author, and Colorado water law expert
  • Robert Ward, College of Engineering CSU (professor emeritus), former PHA board member, and 2016 HCP volunteer
  • Tom Trout, Supervisory Agricultural Engineer, USDA (retired), 2016 HCP volunteer
  • Karen Scopel, City of Greeley Natural Resources Manager, PHA Board of Directors Treasurer
  • Wade Willis, Town of Windsor Manager of Parks and Open Space Division, PHA Board of Directors Vice Chairperson
  • Amy Unger, Historic Preservation Survey and Education Grants Coordinator, State Historical Fund
  • Cheryl Glanz, Publicity Chairperson, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia – Northern Colorado Chapter, 2016 Certified Heritage Culturalist Volunteer
  • Luke Bolinger and Kristen Sweet McFarling, Town of Windsor Recreation & Culture
  • Mark Taylor, Board President for Arthur Ditch management agency through the City of Fort Collins
  • Joanna Luth Stull, Greeley History Museum, Centennial Village Docent
  • Dan Perry, Manager of Greeley History Museum, 2017 Heritage Culturalist Volunteer, PHA Board Directors member (at-large)
  • Stephen Smith, Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering with Wade Water LLC

(Picture above of 2017 Heritage Culturalists at Great Western Sugar Beet Flume)

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