Trends Winter 2009 | Page 5

As a bonus, it appears the screen solved a secondary concern for the City: excessive sediment deposits in the pipeline, Randall said. The City had expected it eventually would have to tackle this problem once the screening project was completed. “But it appears the sediment is getting caught in the organic material and getting filtered out,” Randall said, eliminating the need for a $1.5 million detention pond project. Randall said the City has been extremely pleased with the project result. “We’ve been working with Ayres Associates for a long time. When people do good work, we keep working with them. We’re extremely pleased with the service we’ve received from Ayres Associates, the quality of work, and the attention to detail. We have a product that everyone is proud of.” Pine beetles plague the Rockies ountain pine beetles have infected more than 2 million acres of forest in the Rocky Mountains since 1996, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The beetles attack pine trees by laying eggs under the bark, and the hatched larvae beneath the bark cut off the trees’ supply of nutrients. Now at an epidemic level, the pine beetle infestation has brought many watershed problems to the region, including an increase in forest debris, making the City of Fort Collins’ Pleasant Valley Pipeline screening system essential as the problem is expected to intensify. M For more information on the pine beetle infestation, go to http://www.csfs.colostate.edu/pages/mountain-pine-beetle.html