Big Thompson Watershed Coalition

WORKING WITH OTHERS TO TAKE ACTION THAT PROTECTS AND RESTORES THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF THE BIG THOMPSON WATERSHED FOR THE USE AND ENJOYMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY. OUR VISION IS A HEALTHY AND RESILIENT BIG THOMPSON WATERSHED BENEFITTING FISH, WILDLIFE, AND THE PEOPLE IT SERVES THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.

DISASTER RECOVERY GOAL: HELPING OUR LANDS AND COMMUNITY RECOVER FROM FLOOD AND FIRE THROUGH COLLABORATION, RESTORATION, AND RESILIENCY BUILDING. AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOLLOWING CATASTROPHIC FIRES LIKE THE CAMERON PEAK FIRE IS TO REDUCE EROSION ON HILLSLOPES. HIGH SEVERITY FIRES BURN AWAY THE MAJORITY OF VEGETATION AND TOPSOIL ON HILLSLOPES LEAVING HYDROPHOBIC (WATER REPELLENT) SOILS AND BURNING THE SEED SOURCES FOR FUTURE VEGETATION GROWTH. HYDROPHOBIC SOILS WITH LITTLE VEGETATION CAN BE HEAVILY IMPACTED BY EVEN SMALL RAIN EVENTS LEADING TO SEVERE EROSION AND SEDIMENT, ASH, AND DEBRIS FLOWING DOWNHILL INTO WATERWAYS. WHEN OUR WATERWAYS ARE INUNDATED WITH EXCESS WATER, SEDIMENT, AND DEBRIS, POST-FIRE FLOODING OCCURS IMPACTING DOWNSTREAM VALUES, AQUATIC POPULATIONS, COMMUNITIES, AND ROADWAYS. WITH NO SEED SOURCES TO PRODUCE NEW TREE GROWTH, SOME AREAS MAY TAKE DECADES OR LONGER TO BECOME REFORESTED. TO ADDRESS THIS NEED IN 2023 WE TOOK A TWO-FOLD APPROACH FOCUSING ON STREAM RESTORATION AND REFORESTATION EFFORTS. LED BY OUR NEWLY HIRED (JUNE), FULL-TIME, PERMANENT STREAM RESTORATION PROJECT MANAGER, WE EXPANDED OUR POST-FIRE RECOVERY WORK TO ADDRESS RESTORATION IN STREAMS THAT HAVE HIGH AMOUNTS OF POST-FIRE FLOODING, DEBRIS FLOWS, AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT. OUR PROJECTS FOCUS ON INSTALLING WOODY STRUCTURES IN PRIORITY STREAMS TO SLOW THE FLOW OF WATER, CATCH DEBRIS AND SEDIMENT, AND SLOWLY RAISE ERODED STREAMBEDS TO RECONNECT THEM WITH THEIR FLOODPLAINS. THE IN-STREAM PROJECTS INCLUDED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AND OCCURRED ON BOTH USFS LAND AND PRIVATE PROPERTIES. WE INSTALLED 126 IN-STREAM STRUCTURES TO HELP RESTORE 2.35 MILES OF STREAMS, DREDGED WATERWAYS AND PONDS TO REMOVE 640 CUBIC YARDS OF SEDIMENT DEPOSITED FROM POST-FIRE FLOODING, AND RESEEDED 2 ACRES USING NATIVE SEED AND INSTALLED 2,000 WILLOW STAKES ALONG RIPARIAN AREAS. TO COUNTER THE LACK OF TREE REGROWTH IN SEVERELY BURNED AREAS OF THE FIRE, WE HOSTED EIGHT VOLUNTEER DAYS AND CONTRACTED LABOR TO PLANT 6,390 PONDEROSA PINE SEEDLINGS ACROSS 77 ACRES OF SEVERELY BURNED AREAS OF THE BIG THOMPSON WATERSHED IN 2023. BETWEEN THE TWO FIRE RECOVERY PROJECT TYPES, WE PROVIDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPROXIMATELY 200 VOLUNTEERS WHO CONTRIBUTED NEARLY 1,500 VOLUNTEER HOURS.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GOAL: PROVIDING OUR COMMUNITIES WITH EDUCATIONAL EVENTS, COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND GATHERINGS, AND VOLUNTEER EVENTS PRESENTATIONS, AND DIGITAL OUTREACH TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT WATERSHED HEALTH AND THE WORK WE DO, AND STEWARD THE WATERSHED. WE WORK TO BUILD EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INTO ALL OUR THREE MAIN PROGRAMMATIC AREAS. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH MANAGER, WE REACHED NEW AUDIENCES, CONTINUED TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUT COMMUNITIES, UPDATED OUR WEBSITE AND PRODUCED NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. WE GAVE 13 PRESENTATIONS AND LED OR ASSISTED WITH 24 COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND/OR WORKSHOPS REACHING OVER 500 PEOPLE. WE HELD OUR THIRD ANNUAL TREK THE THOMPSON EDUCATIONAL EVENT AND HOSTED OUR FIRST DONOR APPRECIATION EVENT REACHING 160 COMMUNITY MEMBERS. ALL OTHER PROGRAMS

FOREST HEALTH AND MANAGEMENT GOAL: MITIGATING WILDFIRE RISK AND ENHANCING FOREST HEALTH THROUGH COLLABORATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT PROJECTS. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR FORESTRY PROJECT MANAGER, OUR FORESTRY PROGRAM EXPANDED THROUGHOUT 2023. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE WORKED IN THREE BIG T COMMUNITIES TREATING FORESTS AND ROADWAYS, TREATING 32 ACRES BETWEEN THE GLEN HAVEN AND STORM MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES AND 1.25 MILES OF ROADWAY IN WALTONIA. WE WORKED WITH 32 DIFFERENT PRIVATE LANDOWNERS TO MITIGATE WILDFIRE RISK, ENHANCE FOREST HEALTH, AND INCREASE EMERGENCY INGRESS/EGRESS ALONG PRIORITY ROADWAYS. WE STRENGTHENED PARTNERSHIPS AS A MEMBER OF THE BIG THOMPSON WATERSHED HEALTH PARTNERSHIP, WORKING TO IDENTIFY THE MOST STRATEGIC PLACES TO IMPLEMENT FOREST HEALTH AND FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS TO MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE. FINALLY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOVELAND FIRE RESCUE AUTHORITY, WE PURCHASED AN AIR CURTAIN BURNER A NEW TOOL TO HELP REDUCE WOODY FUELS GENERATED FROM FORESTRY PROJECTS. THIS TOW BEHIND MOBILE UNIT WILL BURN WOODY MATERIAL AT THE RATE OF ABOUT 1 TON/HOUR, PRODUCE LESS SMOKE, AND INCREASE SAFETY AROUND BURNING.

STREAM & WATER RESOURCES GOAL: ENHANCING THE ECOLOGICAL HEALTH, FUNCTION, AND CONNECTIVITY OF OUR RIVER SYSTEM FOR HUMAN AND NATURAL COMMUNITIES. THE RIVER ENVISIONING PROJECT IS A STREAM MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROJECT THAT CONSIDERS THE FUTURE OF THE WATERSHED AND THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER SYSTEM THROUGH LOVELAND. THE GOAL IS TO BUILD A SHARED VISION FOR IMPROVING THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER BY IDENTIFYING STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS THAT RESPECT PROPERTY AND WATER RIGHTS, ADDRESS WATER USER NEEDS, AND ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. THE PLAN ASSESSED THE RIVER HEALTH CONDITIONS AND PROVIDED A ROAD MAP FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS BY PRIORITIZING AREAS OF THE RIVER THAT CAN BENEFIT FROM RIVER HEALTH AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. IN 2023, WE WORKED TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY AND PARTNERS TO DETERMINE PROJECTS WITHIN THESE PRIORITY AREAS THAT ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND PROVIDE BENEFIT TO RIVER HEALTH, RECREATION, AND RIVER USERS. WE HOSTED FOUR PUBLIC MEETINGS TO LEARN WHAT PROJECTS WOULD BE MOST VALUABLE TO THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER FROM THE COMMUNITYS PERSPECTIVE. WE COMPLETED 10 SITE VISITS WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS TO LOOK AT ON-THE- GROUND RIVER CONDITIONS AND PLAN PROJECTS. WE IDENTIFIED 23 TOTAL COMMUNITY AND PARTNER SUPPORTED RIVER PROJECTS AND PRIORITIZED EIGHT OF THOSE TO BEGIN MOVING FORWARD IN 2024.