Lion Creek Restoration with Anglers All

This project will entail restoration at Lion Creek, a tributary of Clear Creek near Empire. By giving to the Lion Creek project on this Gives Day, your gifts will be matched up to $10,000 by our generous partners at Anglers All.

**When you click to donate below in the drop-down menu, you will want to select this project on the list if you wish to donate to the Lion Creek project.**

Ore was discovered in the Empire Mining District in 1862 on the southeast slopes of Silver Mountain, north of Empire, and mining continued in the area until about 1950. The most notable mine in the district was the Minnesota Mine, which produced primarily gold and silver and, in 1942, was the largest producer of gold in Clear Creek County, milling over 10,000 tons of ore per year. The Minnesota Mine is located approximately 1.5 miles north of Empire within the Lion Creek drainage and consists of a draining adit, flooded underground shaft, mill foundation, large volume of tailings (processed ore) downslope of the mill, and tailings deposited throughout the Lion Creek floodplain.

To begin laying the groundwork for future restoration of the impacted floodplain, TU and USFS collected soil samples within the impacted floodplain in 2020, which indicated elevated concentrations of heavy metals and acidic soil conditions. Subsequently, test plots were installed and evaluated in 2021 to identify the most effective soil amendment combination and application rate to be used in future restoration. Upcoming project work supported through your generous donations on Colorado Gives Day will include excavating tailings and disposing of them in a secure repository, placing clean fill at the streamside tailings area, grading and terracing 150 feet of future floodplain, and replanting the site to establish native riparian vegetation.  By improving floodplain health and reducing metals in Lion Creek, the project will benefit downstream reaches of Clear Creek as well.