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BioBlitz Program To Help Study, Restore South Platte River

DENVER (CBS4) - Plants and wildlife along the South Platte River are getting an annual check up this week. A program at Colorado State University called Bio Blitz takes place April 15 and 16.

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(credit: Colorado State University)

Researchers from CSU will join experts from the Butterfly Pavilion, Denver Zoo and Pinyon Environmental to evaluate all kinds of living organisms by the river.

The goal is to clean up the area and document the changes in the river to create a baseline for the natural environment which will be home to a future CSU Spur campus.

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(credit: Colorado State University)

"People can take ownership of their urban biodiversity and improve it, and that's agency for people, and people are really thirsty for being able to make enact change have a cleaner environment an improved bike trail, and more opportunities to really observe and though kids can explore the natural world," Greg Newman, a CSU research scientist.

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(credit: Colorado State University)

The campus is part of a larger National Western Center campus which is working on restoring the South Platte River.

BioBlitz has since counted thousands of insects, more than 100 species of plants and 19 bird species.

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