A new dam on Tarryall Creek has become the latest flash point between private property rights and public access to Colorado streams and rivers.
The earthen dam went up in June, diverting waters off the Pike National Forest and damaging fish habitat along the creek. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered that the barrier be torn down by Sept. 1.
The dam cut off a 300-foot meander that provided some of the only public fishing access for miles. The rerouted creek now flows through the private Topaz Mountain Ranch.
“I’ve never experienced a landowner diverting water off the national forest land to this extent,” said Sara Mayben, the Forest Service’s South Park district ranger.
The ranch, owned by Dr. Randall Lortscher and Kip Kochevar, also has improperly fenced off Forest Service land near the creek, Mayben said.
The ranch went ahead with the dam project days after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the owner that permits for the work were suspended, federal and state officials said.
The permits were originally issued by the Corps in January.
During a review last spring, the Colorado Department of Wildlife became concerned that plans to straighten the creek – and improve habitat on the private property – would actually hurt fish habitat and dry up wetlands.
“What we’re trying to do now is right a wrong,” said agency spokesman Tyler Baskfield. “Unfortunately, we may have made too quick a move on the approval.”
Attorney Sandra Snodgrass, who represents the ranch, said the owners will comply with the Corps’ order to restore the creek.
“They also intend to negotiate with all parties involved on the best way to proceed with the habitat-improvement project,” she said.
Lortscher and Kochevar were both fishing in Alaska last week and unavailable for comment, Snodgrass said.
The dispute comes as recreation-dependent businesses along the Tarryall are trying to rebound from the drought, the 2002 Hayman fire and construction that required draining the Tarryall Reservoir.
“From 2000 until now, it took everything we had to stay open,” said Randy Giesinger, owner of the Jefferson Market on Route 285, which counts on anglers as regular customers.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board also wants the dam down. The state water planning agency acquired a water right in the creek – that is now impaired by the dam – to protect the fishery, according to Linda Bassi, an agency official.
Greg Gerlich, a Division of Wildlife aquatic biologist, said the owners excavated a new channel with heavy machinery, but did not install riffles or pools, or finish grading the banks, as is typical for such projects.
The wildlife agency wants the ranch to apply for a new permit from the Corps of Engineers, which would require public comment and completion of an environmental assessment.
Streams and rivers flowing through Colorado public lands already face a host of challenges, including water-supply diversions, logging, grazing, mining and development, said Dave Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited.
“The last thing we need is to also have folks who presumably care about those streams to add to those problems,” he said.
Staff writer Theo Stein can be reached at 303-820-1657 or tstein@denverpost.com.
