For an excellent discussion of the expected impact on the Poudre River watershed, check out a new Colorado Parks and Wildlife podcast on "Wildfire impacts on Wildlife."
The podcast can be found on the CPW website; click here.
The 30-minute podcast covers a broad discussion of the pros and cons of wildlife. (You'll find the main discussion of fisheries comes from northeast region senior aquatic biologist Jeff Spohn, starting about 11 minutes into the podcast). Jeff was heavily involved in assessment and restoration efforts on the South Platte after the Hayman Fire. Based partly on that experience, he says, essentially, that loss of fish will be extensive, and the worst damage to fisheries will come with ash and other debris being washed into waterways with the next big rain or snowfall.
The Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires are the largest wildfires in Colorado history, burning more than 600,000 acres. In addition to Jeff's discussion of fisheries, the podcast includes assessments by the senior wildlife biologist for CPW's northeast region, Shannon Schaller, and Casey Cooley, who is CPW's forest habitat coordinator.
(Thanks to Walt Graal for letting us know about this).
