On Saturday, Sept. 17, the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Trout Unlimited and Denver Water will dedicate the popular Gill Trail that helps guide anglers, hikers and others into the South Platte River's Gold Medal fishing waters in Cheesman Canyon, southwest of Deckers. The commemoration will recognize the hard work and generous contributions of the many corporations, organizations and individuals who made the restoration of this well-used trail possible.

The Gill Trail restoration project began in 1999 with an idea to restore this popular fishing trail along the South Platte River. The trail was being "loved to death;" high usage and the development of unauthorized trails leading from the main trail created erosion and sedimentation problems, destroying vegetation and enabling sediment to flow into the South Platte River. The erosion also created safety hazards for people traveling on the trail. Then, in 2002, the Hayman fire added another challenge, burning over a portion of the trail's corridor, requiring additional revegetation work to stem further erosion.

Over $160,000 in funding was donated by project supporters, with more than 8,000 volunteer hours being contributed to this six-year project. In addition, the donations were augmented by an additional $250,000 in funding provided through the U.S. Forest Service's Upper South Platte Watershed Project. The contributors who made the project possible and who are being recognized Saturday include: REI, Inc.; Weyerhauser, Inc.; El Pomar Foundation, the National Forest Foundation; the Gates Family Foundation; the Joseph Henry Edmonson Foundation; Colorado State Parks; Denver Water, the Cutthroat & Cheyenne Mountain Chapters of Trout Unlimited; and the U.S. Forest Service.

After initial fund-raising efforts and trail planning work, the Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service and Denver Water worked with the scores of volunteers over the years to rehab the three-mile trail from top to bottom. A U.S. Forest Service rock crew from California was brought in to complete specialized rock work to reinforce some of the more challenging sections of the trail. Each year volunteers and work crews completed different sections of the trail, created trailheads at the trail's upper and lower ends, revegetated eroding slopes to help improve the overall condition of the canyon and installed signage and benches along key portions of the trail.