The San Juan National Forest will begin construction this fall on a culvert installation project along Hermosa Creek aimed at improving fish habitat and public safety, federal officials announced this month.
Work on the Mainstem Hermosa Creek Culvert Installation Project is scheduled for Sept. 8 through Oct. 13 and will require temporary closures along Hermosa Park Road, according to a news release.
For decades, vehicles have crossed Hermosa Creek by driving directly through the stream during low water. The Forest Service says the practice has widened and shallowed the channel, degraded water quality and blocked fish passage, while also creating safety risks for drivers during high flows.
The culvert is meant to address those impacts by installing a stream-crossing structure that will allow aquatic organisms to pass beneath the road while restoring stream conditions, according to the release. The project will also reconstruct about 900 feet of damaged stream bed to improve the native trout’s habitat and water quality.
The construction period overlaps with Colorado’s archery and muzzleloader big-game hunting seasons and will limit access to a large portion of Game Management Unit 74.
Access to the Hermosa Creek Trail will remain open from the U.S. Highway 550 side, including trailhead parking, camping and restrooms. However, the road will be closed just beyond the trailhead intersection, and from the west the closure will begin near the junction of Hotel Draw and Hermosa Park roads.
The Colorado Trail loop via Blackhawk Pass will be inaccessible during construction, and the Forest Service warned that anglers should expect temporary sediment downstream for the project’s duration.
The project is being carried out in partnership with Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife as part of a 30-year restoration effort targeting cutthroat trout across 23 miles of stream habitat, the release said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
