High up on the northeastern flank of Pikes Peak there is a special place of which few people are aware. This place is the headwater area to Severy Creek and it has been recognized by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program for its outstanding biological diversity. Within Severy Creek resides a population of the threatened Colorado greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki stomias), Colorado's state fish, as well as a slew of other sensitive flora and fauna. Part of what makes this area so biologically diverse is the presence of the largest fen on Pikes Peak.

So, what's a fen?! A fen is a special type of wetland (an area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally). Fens are fed by mineral-rich surface water and/or groundwater. Because of the mineral-rich water, fens are generally more nutrient rich than typical wetlands allowing a greater variety of plants to establish. Another defining characteristic of fens is that they are rich in organic peat matter. Fens in the Southern Rocky Mountains can have a peat thickness of 3 feet to over 12 feet. This is incredible when you consider that on average it takes 1,000 years for 5 inches of peat to develop! The Severy Creek fen has peat deposits up to 4.5 feet deep. A sample of peat from the bottom of the fen was carbon dated and it showed the Severy Creek fen is almost 6,300 years old!

Unfortunately, the wetland area around the fen has been highly disturbed by both natural and human caused events which threaten the future of the fen. Old landslides have buried portions of the wetland and past fires have caused sediment debris flows into the wetland area. However, the most immediate threat to the fen's biological diversity is from the erosion and transport of sediments that have occurred in the area since the early 20th century. This is primarily due to the construction and maintenance of the Pikes Peak Highway in the Severy Creek drainage. Past practices of directing stormwater runoff into the drainage resulted in the formation of several large gullies over one-half mile long. The gullies have contributed to the deposition of approximately 1,147,726 cubic feet of sediment in the wetland area. If piled up, the sediment would form a cone 65 feet high with a radius of 131 feet!

The good news is that this summer we will take the first initial steps to address the threat to the Severy Creek fen. This July, RMFI will be partnering with an AmeriCorps team to begin work on stabilizing the sediments. This is just a small first step in what we hope will become a major effort during the summer of 2013 to protect this valuable natural resource. We'll keep you posted on our progress and let you know of any future volunteer events where you can help!