Barr Lake
| Barr Lake | |||||||
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| Coordinates | 39 ° 56 '37 " N , 104 ° 45' 45" W | ||||||
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| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 1553 m | ||||||
| Water surface | 7.69 km² | ||||||
The Barr Lake is a reservoir in Adams County in the State of Colorado , the approximately 30 km northeast of Denver's city center and five kilometers southeast of Brighton in the Great Plains lies.
In 1977, the area surrounding the lake was recognized as a Precious Bird Refuge and Barr Lake was declared a State Park . Together with the Rocky Mountains Bird Observatory, the State Park Administration employs volunteers who observe bald eagles in particular and study their behavior.
history
Barr Lake, named after a civil engineer, was created in 1908 when the Farmer's Reservoir and Irrigation Company combined the Oasis and the smaller Burlington Reservoir to form a larger reservoir with the expansion of the Oasis Dam. The Oasis Reservoir was built in 1886 when the construction of the Burlington Canal began to divert the South Platte River into a wide bison hollow. This natural prairie sink gathered to date in the spring water regularly, of which besides the bison also at that time in this region native wolves and elk as well as the on the Goodnight-Loving Trail located Longhorn cattle benefited from Texas. Hunting Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians participated in the abundant wildlife in this region, but the vast grassy landscape was not of interest to whites up to that point.
That changed in the early 1880s when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad expanded their railroad network from Chicago to Denver and finally reached Colorado's state capital in 1883. However, there was still no reliable source to supply the region with water. The Oasis Reservoir created by means of the Burlington Canal fundamentally changed the landscape near the shore. The former prairie was transformed into a dense poplar forest, where black poplars shot up and where wild animals found an important refuge. These in turn attracted more and more bird lovers, anglers and hunters, some of whom came for day trips on the new Denver railway line.
In the 1950s, Barr Lake began to be steadily polluted by upstream Denver, from which polluted sewage flowed into the lake. Only a law on water treatment passed in 1964 and the South Platte flood of 1965 finally brought the reservoir back to normal.
State park
Barr Lake is now one of Colorado's 43 state parks. In addition to fishing ( rainbow trout , muskellung , blue sunfish and American pikeperch ), the park also offers boat trips, for which the northern half of the lake has been reserved. The southern end of the lake, on the other hand, was explicitly declared a wildlife refuge , which is subject to strict restrictions. Barr Lake State Park is open all year round, but only during the day and with no camping facilities.
The Colorado State Park Administration owns 28% of Barr Lake State Park, while the lake itself is administered by the Farmer's Reservoir and Irrigation Company and the Denver-Hudson Canal, which runs along the east bank of Barr Lake, is managed by the Henrylyn Irrigation District .
Flora and fauna
In the high plateau of the Plains , which is characterized by wide grasslands, cottonwood trees ( Populus deltoides or Populus Fremontii ), a fast and tall-growing species of poplar that are related to the Eurasian black poplar , dominate on the shores of Barr Lake grows on river and lake banks. The mammals that can be spotted in the state park include foxes and mule deer as well as coyotes .
The southwestern end of the lake and the marshland along the lake form a retreat for numerous bird species, including great blue herons , turkey vultures , round-tailed corsairs , pelicans and various types of eagles. The state park administration now points to more than 350 species of birds previously sighted in Barr Lake State Park. The bald eagle , which adorns the US coat of arms , was first spotted at Barr Lake in 1986, where it has since nested in the black poplars. The young birds of prey that hatch in mid to late March grow very quickly in the first three months and are able to leave the nest after around 10–12 weeks. The best view of the eagle's nests is from the gazebo , a two-kilometer riverside path that leads south of the nature center into the wildlife sanctuary. The nature center provides binoculars for this purpose and also operates a so-called Eagle Express - a park shuttle that runs from May to October.
The State Park Nature Center - a state and United States Fish and Wildlife Service sponsored facility on the east bank of Barr Lake - provides general wildlife conservation information, while the Northern Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory is located in the northern part of the park specifically dedicated to bird watching.
