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Colorado Parks & Wildlife Staff performing fish monitoring and stream assessments (Colorado Parks & Wildlife, 2021)
Our state’s rivers, streams, and creeks are an important natural resource, providing clean water for people and agriculture, homes for wildlife, and important open spaces for us all to connect with nature.
The local and state agencies that value the water and habitat in West Plum Creek, alongside interested landowners, are developing the West Plum Creek Stream Management Plan (SMP). These agencies include Chatfield Watershed Authority, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Douglas County Conservation District, Douglas County’s Division of Open Space and Natural Resources, and River Network.
The West Plum Creek SMP is an open, collaborative process: participation in the SMP is voluntary, and all recommendations will be made using landowner and local stakeholder input. The effort is about finding common ground by identifying strategies that provide multiple benefits for both people and the creek.
The three primary tasks of this project include:
1. Stream Health Assessment
The purpose of a stream health assessment is to characterize aquatic and riparian habitat, stream flows, and water
management along the length of West Plum Creek and its tributaries, from the Forest Service boundary downstream to
Sedalia.
The assessment will be used to identify opportunities to improve habitat and stream flow to support wildlife and the livelihoods and lifestyles of landowners along the creek. Voluntary recommendations and results from the assessment will be shared with landowners.
2. Land Owner & Water Rights Users Needs Assessment
The purpose of the landowner and water user needs assessments is to learn more about landowner values and priorities, and their land and water management practices. This will help the project team identify habitat improvement project ideas that align with landowners’ and water users' goals and interests. The project team utilizes surveys and interviews to gather this information. The team also gathers this data through conversations with landowners during site visits, guided walks, and public meetings.
Monitoring reaches in the West Plum Creek sub-basin
A beautiful scenic view of the West Plum Creek sub-basin
(Alba Watershed Consulting, Fall 2021)
3. Creek Improvement Opportunities
The project will utilize the stream health assessment and input from landowners to develop a list of multi-benefit project options that could improve creek conditions. Projects that involve fish passage and that have private landowner support will be compiled in a prioritized list of projects. Prioritization will be determined using a matrix developed by the project team that incorporates data from the stream health assessment and landowner / water user needs assessment.
How does the West Plum Creek SMP benefit landowners?
When landowners participate in the SMP process, they ensure that their ideas are represented. Landowners can participate in the SMP through 1) sharing your knowledge and experience about the creek, and 2) providing access for aquatic and riparian habitat monitoring. Please fill out this contact form if you would like to get more involved in the West Plum Creek SMP.
The West Plum Creek Stream Management Plan can help preserve West Plum Creek so that future generations can continue to enjoy this special place. Healthy, ecologically intact streams can contribute to the value of local property, as they are more aesthetically pleasing than unhealthy streams.
Example of past habitat monitoring done in West Plum Creek near Perry Park, Colorado 39°15'34.10" N, 104°57'06.85" W (USGS, 2009)
Project Leadership measuring flows on West Plum Creek
(Alba Watershed Consulting, Spring 2022)
How will the creek assessment be used?
This project is funded with public grant dollars, and as such all final reports will be available publicly. To protect individual landowner information, the results will be summarized or aggregated by creek reaches that include multiple parcels. Information on the condition of the creek will only be collected from public lands, or from private lands where the land owner has given explicit permission for access.
Results from the stream health assessment will be used to identify voluntary improvement opportunities. It will not result in any regulatory actions or new government oversight.
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