Montrose - Daily Press

By Kati O’Hare

Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — In a few weeks, the city will celebrate another task completed for an ongoing project — Cerise Park. The dedication of the new Stover Field and 10-acre  multipurpose field on the west side of the park will be an exciting time for residents who have been working since the early 1990s to spruce up the once cluttered homestead area.

Cerise Park incorporates a 10-acre multipurpose field, a wooded area and a track in the area between the Uncompahgre River and Sunset Mesa. (Barton Glasser / DAily PRess) Advertisement

Since the city obtained the property from the Cerise family, an array of projects have started and many completed. Committees have formed to manage development of the area and a master plan created. Groups, both young and old, have volunteered time to develop trails, construct a disc golf course, plant trees and secure the banks of the Uncompaghre River, which separates Cerise from its neighbor, Riverbottom Park.

And though the trails are established and many people enjoy the area year-round, there are still ideas, hopes and dreams for the park. Some of those will start this summer, others must wait for community and financial support.

A brief history

The Cerise property was first patented by J.J. Kallstrom in 1886 through the Preemption Act of 1841. The property then passed to the Kreps family and was later occupied by the Jean Cerise family in the 1920s. In 1994, Jean Cerise Jr. sold the property to the city of Montrose.

“There was all kinds of old farm equipment all over the place,” Jim Ingram said. Ingram has lived above the Cerise property for 56 years and has seen and documented the property’s gradual formation.

“It’s nice to look over the hill and see something worth looking at, instead of a prairie dog farm,” he said.

The area, which will be dedicated Saturday, June 14 in a large celebration between the city and Montrose Chamber of Commerce, was cluttered with “junk.” There were old trucks, rusted out farm equipment and several structures which had suffered extreme fire damage.

After obtaining the property, the city went to work cleaning the area.

In October 1996, an ecological evaluation was done by Keammerer Ecological Consultants of Boulder Colo. in a two-day field trip of the site, according to the report. Observations were made on plant species and habitat types, birds and mammals in the area, and problem plant species. All of which was to help with recommendation of restoration and ecological management of Cerise Park.

In the now

In the last decade, much has been done to Cerise Park which adds a refuge for the dog walker and fisherman, the mountain biker and disc golfer.

“I like that it’s an acceptable place to take your dog,” resident Maggie McCarty said, who was at the park with her friend, Christy Young, and their three dogs Friday afternoon.

Both said they enjoy the wooded picnic area behind the new developed fields and the paths provide enough shade for a run, along with the views and “excluded” feeling the area provides.

Standing on the newly constructed multipurpose field, which is encircled with an almost mile-long track, one can see mountain bikers practicing on the single-track trails which line the side of Sunset Mesa.

The trails were constructed by local members of the Colorado Plateau Mountain Biking Trail Association with the help from the area’s middle school students.

On the other end of the park, the banks of the Uncompaghre River have also seen improvement though a Fishing Is Fun grant from the Department of Wildlife.

Boulders were placed along the banks and willows planted for stabilization; the large rocks were also strategically placed in the river to form habitat structures.

“We reconstructed a diversion for the creek that feeds the park,” City Engineer Jason Ullmann said.

The diversion leads water to a pond which is used to irrigate the green space in the park. The pond then drains back into the ditch where it runs through the park and back into the river.

“The benefit of the pond and irrigating is that the cottonwoods grew depending on the water and a lot were dying off. The trees are looking healthier because the ditch is being used,” he said.

The water has also started to create a natural grassland area, which City Park Planner Dennis Erickson said was a goal in the Master Plan.

Throughout the southern end of the park, sports enthusiasts can be seen with their discs.

Joel Forest, a local teacher, was at the park Friday throwing a few holes before returning to work. He said it was city employees Dan and Joe Mazza and fellow teachers Max McClay and John Boyers who worked hard to get a 18-hole course there for him to enjoy on his lunch break.

As the park developed, the back nine had to be moved for the new multipurpose field. However, Forest said the city has been wonderful to work with.

Boyers organizes several tournaments throughout the summer, one of which will take place during the dedication.

“Disc golf is a big part of the park,” Forest said. With new development, such as dirt walking trails through the woods, he’s noticed more golfers coming to enjoy the park. “It’s more captivating,” he said.

Some of the thicker brush that runs along the trails have been cleared, and other areas are also expected to be pruned.

Erickson said it’s not that they want to make a “cement park” but the trees being cleared were invasive species which were taking over the area and killing off the native species such as cottonwoods.

“Russian olive and saltcedar (tamarisk) are widely distributed on the site and could be the focus of a removal and restoration plan,” states the ecological study. “Russian olive does provide habitat services to a variety of species, but it also is very competitive and is capable of preventing the reestablishment of species native to the area.”

To replace the invasive species, native species have been planted.

The future

Many of the plans generated from the Parks Advisory Board, which are in the park’s master plan, have been accomplished, such as the bank restorations, new fields, picnic areas, nature trails, bridges and parking. However, there are still projects that haven’t begun.

Erickson said he has $75,000 budgeted for the park this year. He hopes to use some of the money for improving a newly-obtained, more than three-acre property next to the river and Main Street.

The property was obtained from the Gallegos family and provides access to the park from its north end, Erickson said. His plan is to construct a round parking area for vehicles hauling trailers. The property is adjacent to the river and could be a possible take-out point for boaters, he said. He’s currently working with the Colorado Department of Transportation on details of a Main Street access. He hopes to start on some landscaping this summer.

Judy Ann Files, who was on the first advisory board and is currently serving on the board, envisions business people walking down to the Main Street area to enjoy lunch.

Another notion the first advisory board had for the park was an outdoor venue which could be used for such things as concerts, graduations and art festivals. Because of developments in the park, the location of a “natural amphitheater” has altered some, but the idea has remained the same — use the park’s natural curve and hillside to create an outdoor venue which would be easily maintained.

“We really don’t have a place with a bandstand build in permanently,” chamber Executive Director Marge Keehfuss said. “The park itself is an ideal situation because it has a nice hill behind it ... there’s no traffic noise ... it would be huge for Montrose.”

The location of the venue, explained former board member Larry Thomas, would be just south of the new multipurpose field.

“There’s a great gift we got here,” he said. “We just have to develop it to fit Montrose.”

He said a venue which could hold up to several thousand people could be constructed, but the venue would also be ideal for small shows, speeches or events.

“It could bring good, clean money to our community,” he said.

Keehfuss agrees, saying, “In a way what Telluride has done ... not duplicate what they are doing ... but it would have a significant affect on our community. People in the younger generation are so in tune with music. They have the ability to travel and spend money,” she said. “It would be a great enhancement in that sector of our tourist traffic.”

It’s the board’s and city employees’ inventiveness, along with community support, which has established Cerise Park. It will also be their participation and drive which will move other future plans along. And all of this will be celebrated with music, activities, food and drink during the dedication of the new fields in just a few weeks.

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com

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