In yet another example of the insatiable thirst for death of industrial civilization, a prairie dog colony near Denver was exterminated last month. As this article in The Denver Post details, human settlements “are safer now that a prairie dog colony located near the Englewood Dam has been exterminated”.

Deep Green Resistance weeps for the prairie dogs, who for generations dared to live where humans would later construct a flood-control berm, to be operated by businesspeople. We weep for the planet as well, which is doomed unless industrial civilization is dismantled.

Dam work bad news for prairie dogs at Willow Creek site in Centennial

Urban Drainage officials say the maintenance work was necessary for flood control at “high hazard” site

By Joe Rubino

YourHub Reporter

POSTED: 07/07/2015 10:15:21 AM MDT

CENTENNIAL —Flood-control officials say Centennial and other downstream communities are safer now that a prairie dog colony located near the Englewood Dam has been exterminated.

The dam, located on the northern end of the Willow Spring Open Space, is a grassy berm first constructed as a flood-control device in the mid-1930s. It is owned and maintained by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District.

The dam helps protect a 9.5-square-mile section of Willow Creek and Little Dry Creek watershed, explained Urban Drainage project manager Rich Borchardt.

The dam underwent a state inspection on May 29. Officials identified issues that could compromise its effectiveness during high-flow events, Borchardt said, including numerous prairie dog burrows on the north side. There were also ant hills; woody vegetation with old, decaying roots; and informal trails that have worn away grasses and formed potential channels for water.

Englewood Dam is designated a “high hazard” structure because it protects downstream areas including Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood and unincorporated Arapahoe County, Borchardt said. Its importance necessitated eliminating the prairie dogs as well as removal of some plants, like yucca, and — in the near future — revegetation work that will sow native grasses on some unapproved paths.

“This is an important facility, and if there is any failure of it, there is a risk of a loss of life downstream,” Borchardt said. “We’ve recognized since the September 2013 floods the importance of good infrastructure and that it be maintained well and functions when you need it.”

John Williams, who lives about a mile from the site, said he saw water on the south side of the dam rise high enough to cover all of the plants there following heavy rains last month, and he understands the efforts to maintain the dam.

“I had seen the prairie dogs over there, and I didn’t realize the danger,” Williams said.

Borchardt said water levels rose 14 feet at the dam between June 12 and 15, further demonstrating the need for this “tune up” maintenance.

He said Urban Drainage annually removes debris and sediment from the south side of the dam, a marshy area designed to collect and safely release nearly 652 million gallons of water. He said the district tried to poison the local prairie dog population last year, but after the state engineer’s visit, the decision was made to fully eliminate the rodents.

He said that if the issues were ignored the state could order that the dam be redesigned to hold less water or be completely replaced, work that would cost vastly more money than the $75,000 the taxpayer-funded district is investing there this year.

“It’s something that we don’t like to do, but we realize the risk of not doing it is a whole lot worse,” Borchardt said, adding the district was unable to find a place to relocate the colony last summer.

Ronnie Purcella, owner of An Animal and Pest Control Specialist, said his crews dropped pellets for an Environmental Protection Agency-approved fumigant into 250 prairie dog holes and covered them over on June 29.

A sign alerting visitors about the work was posted along the Willow Creek Trail, which runs along the north side of the dam.

Still, the extermination shocked some neighbors.

“With all the development in Colorado, this is really upsetting. This was their home first,” said Marlie Nelson, whose parents have lived in the neighborhood for more than 25 years. “They hadn’t even built into the side of the dam. How do they just do this?”

The open space area is maintained by the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District. While South Suburban hosted a community outreach meeting about the work, it plays no role in the maintenance at the dam, said David Brueggeman, the district’s acting director of parks and open space.

Borchardt said Urban Drainage will work to get rid of a few of the unofficial “habit trails” that run vertically and diagonally across the dam on both sides throughout 2015 and into 2016. The goal is to have less grass-free spaces for water to run down. He said Urban Drainage will invest another $75,000 in preventive maintenance in 2016.

Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or twitter.com/RubinoJC