This tower was built on a small island in the largest pond formed by a series of gravel pits. First a footbridge was built to the island and an 8' chain link fence with a locked gate was built around the site. On the island, they dug two holes large enough for telephone poles and lined them with 55 gallon drums so they wouldn't collapse. Then they used a Division of Wildlife helicopter to drop 20 foot telephone poles in the holes. Volunteers from the Poudre Valley REA built the framework and a 4' x 8' deck on top. The 5'x 5' nest box was added. Half of the roof was plywood and half wire mesh. Sides and front were made of vertical bars of half inch electrical conduit, 2 1/2 inches apart. These bars allowed good visibility from the shore into the box. The rear of the box was plywood with a door we could use to feed and care for the birds. The front panel was hinged so it could be lowered outward to make a "porch" - a landing platform for the youngsters when they were ready to fly.
Around the bottom of the poles, they placed aluminum flashing to keep predators such as raccoons from climbing up. A 12' ladder was chained to the bottom and locked to keep anyone without a key from setting it upright. After you reached the top of the ladder, you had to climb about the last 10' using the spikes on both sides of the pole.
The osprey chicks came from Couer d'Alene, Idaho. Ospreys often have three chicks in a nest and it is sometimes hard for the parents to keep them all fed. By six weeks of age, young osprey are able to eat without the mother bird's help. On July 13, DOW employees, Operation Osprey people and reporters from Channel 9 in Denver flew to Idaho and, with the help of Idaho Game and Fish personnel, removed one chick from each
