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Michigan Ditch Pre-Fire Mitigation Project

mountain vista along Colorado Highway 14

The Michigan Ditch, near Cameron Pass, is a trans-basin diversion owned by the City of Fort Collins. The ditch transports water from the upper Michigan River to the Poudre watershed. Approximately 11% of the City’s water supply is provided by the Michigan Ditch. To protect this essential infrastructure, the City of Fort Collins and the Colorado State Forest Service will begin Phase 1 of the multi-phase project on 150 acres entirely located in the Colorado State Forest in summer 2025. 

This project will reduce the risk of future large-scale wildfires in the forest surrounding the ditch, which will protect the Michigan Ditch water supply and the availability and quality of the City’s raw water supply.  

This area has experienced high mortality from spruce bark beetle, and contractors will remove dead trees and other trees at risk of blowdown. They will also thin understory trees to reduce the amount of fuels that could burn in the event of a wildfire. The long-term benefits of this project will extend for decades. 

Project Updates

July 10, 2025

Contractors will move forestry equipment onto the site the week of July 14, 2025. 

May 30, 2025

Work will begin around July 4, 2025. Contractors will begin the project when weather conditions permit and work through mid-October as conditions allow. During this time, the Ditch Road, the American Lakes Trailhead and portions of the American Lakes Trail on Colorado State Forest State Park will remain closed for the safety of our visitors.  

Stop by the Moose Visitor Center or download the CoTrex app for more information about open trails and campgrounds. 

map of project area at Colorado State Forest.

Benefits of the Project

  • Michigan Ditch provides up to 11 percent of Fort Collins raw water supply.
  • The watershed is an important water supply for the Jackson County communities of Walden and Gould as well as recreational and irrigated lands throughout the county.
  • Michigan River feeds into the North Platte, which is important for agriculture in Wyoming and Nebraska.
  • The spruce bark beetle outbreak occurred in the late 2000s, killing most of the mature Engelmann spruce.
  • The management area has a minimum 50 percent mortality; over 100 acres have 80 percent mortality.
  • The fuels in the management area would likely cause high soil burn severity in the event of wildfire.
  • The higher the temperatures burning the soil, the less likely vegetation will recover to stabilize the soil.
  • The Engelmann spruce mostly remain standing and will be some of the largest timber currently sourced from Colorado. 
  • The green subalpine fire will be used as an erosion control and water retention measure, lopped and scattered along the ground. Some may be taken for wood straw development.
  • Everything will be processed in Colorado.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this project affect recreation in Colorado State Forest?
  • July – mid-October 2025: Michigan Ditch Road and American Lakes Trail will be closed while logging work happens.
  • All areas of Colorado State Forest State Park north of Highway 14 will remain open.

This work will have long-term benefits for wildlife. Opening the tree canopy allow new grasses to grown that will attract elk and deer. The work plan also requires that 4 snags/acre remain in the project area for small mammal and bird habitat. 

The plan is for most of the timber will travel to Colorado Timber Resources or a mill in Saratoga, Wyo. The spruce that will be removed is commercially valuable and will likely turn into small dimensional lumber. Some timber will be used in projects at State Forest State Park and Colorado State Forest. Additionally, the green fir will be lopped and scattered to control erosion. 

The Michigan Ditch is a trans-basin diversion owned by the City. The ditch transports water from the upper Michigan River to the Poudre Watershed, to augment the City’s Poudre raw water supply. 

Water from Michigan Ditch flows into Joe Wright Creek, Joe Wright Reservoir and Chambers Lake before flowing into the Poudre River just downstream of the Big South Campground.   

Phase-1 of the Michigan Ditch Pre-Fire Mitigation Project will reduce the risk of future large scale wildfires in the forest surrounding the ditch, protecting the Michigan Ditch water supply infrastructure and the availability and quality of the City’s raw water supply. 

A high intensity wildfire in the area surrounding Michigan Ditch would likely result in severe soil erosion, sedimentation and even landslides.

  • Sedimentation would be expected to fill the ditch and damage headgates, culverts and other infrastructure features. This would degrade water quality in the ditch.
  • Post-fire sedimentation would also likely negatively affect water quality in Joe Wright Reservoir, which is a water supply storage reservoir owned by the City of Fort Collins.
  • The ditch is situated in very steep terrain that has a history of landslides; a high-intensity fire could destabilize hillslopes, resulting in landslides that damage or destroy sections of the ditch.
  • There are also multiple historic City-owned cabins that are used by operations staff that could are at risk of being destroyed by a fire. 

Contacts

Colorado State Forest Service – Kristy Burnett, [email protected], 970-218-8363

City of Fort Collins Utilities – Rachel Owens, [email protected]

Colorado State Forest State Park (CPW) – Rachael Gonzales, [email protected], 970-773-8587

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Map powered by the Colorado Forest Atlas from the Colorado State Forest Service