Collaboration hits new heights in Colorado’s Upper South Platte Watershed
One of the areas hit hardest by the Colorado forest fires of 2002 was the Upper South Platte River Watershed, which provides 90% of the drinking water for nearly one million city dwellers. The watershed, which was already struggling under the ravages of earlier fires, experienced severely degraded water quality and damaged water treatment and storage facilities. Yet out of this scarred landscape, a positive healing transformation is taking place on the ground and in the affected communities.
Restoration and protection efforts have led to more than 400 hectares of forest being planted each year by federal, state and private entities. However, the most dramatic and exciting change is the cooperation between partners. Seeking to restore ecosystem functions damaged by past fires and restore water quality, private landowners, companies, water authorities, and representatives from different levels of government – federal, state and county – came together to set up working agreements on restoration efforts and wildfire coordination.
In addition, private landowners and government agencies at all levels have adopted Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) that establish priority actions and cooperation. Wildlife species not present before the fire have made the Upper South Platte their new home. Dense forests have owls and the open forests have deer, turkey and elk. A true instance of a phoenix rising from forest flames.
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South Platte Watershed, Photo: Mike Elson, USDA Forest Service