Vail Daily
May 26, 2009, Tonya Bina

KREMMLING — The Whitmer Ranch in Kremmling is welcoming to nature. Ducks and geese are making homes out of four new irrigation ponds constructed last year. They purposefully have shallow ends where water fowl can easily forage. Eventually, riparian habitats around the ponds will create more wildlife benefits. Temporary fencing that can be removed in the spring when sage grouse are present on nearby breeding grounds keeps grazing cattle from disturbing the new habitat. The fencing, which takes a half day to take down, also is designed to have limited places for eagles and hawks to perch — predators of sage grouse. These new improvements on the ranch “really makes irrigating a pleasure,” said ranch owner Kent Whitmer. To divert water out of the draw before, Whitmer said he had to dig a trench. Having the water in ponds makes irrigation easier. “And we wanted to provide habitat for water fowl because that’s something that is important to me personally. And if we can get some fish in there, that’s good, too.” It would have cost the ranching family $40,000 to create these improvements, were it not for the involvement of the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kremmling, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program through the National Wildlife Refuge in Jackson County, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Hot Sulphur Springs. ...

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20090526/NEWS/905269991/1001/NONE