Angler’s Covey and City of Colorado Springs working to clean up Fountain Creek

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Angler's Covey is making a longtime vision come true while also helping out the city of Colorado Springs.

In April of 2020, the fishing shop signed a lease agreement with the city to give them ownership of both sides of Fountain Creek from the 21st St. bridge down to the Cimarron Bridge.

The partnership will allow Angler's Covey to start holding outdoor classes while also keeping illegal campers of the property and keeping the stream healthy.

The timeline was pushed back because of COVID-19, but now the vision is starting to take form. The first step in the process was putting up a fence around the property. Over the next year, they'll start the clean-up process.

Angler's Covey will work with police on the best way to handle people that show up on the property. A team with the city will come out to clean up any drug paraphernalia or anything harmful to visitors. After, Angler's Covey will go in to make improvements to the trail and creek and build a habitat for fish.

"I’m really excited about this project. The big excitement I have is that the city is excited. You hear about public-private partnerships and they’re hoping this becomes a blueprint to where maybe other businesses along the corridor might consider looking at this to enhance their business whatever it might be," said David Leinweber the owner of Angler's Covey.

The city's stormwater division is already working with Colorado College and a local school district to use the area to teach classes.

Angler's Covey wants to build an amphitheater behind their main building to be able to host their own classes starting next year.