The San Miguel Watershed Coalition was recently awarded a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program grant. This national award is designed to address water quantity and quality issues in the west by developing resilient watershed groups. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman described the purpose of the program, “Reducing conflict over water is an important goal. Working collaboratively with locally-led groups is the best path forward to reduce conflict and develop solutions that will lead to the long-term viability of watersheds.”

As a part of the grant, SMWC will conduct stakeholder outreach, organizational development, and restoration planning throughout the entire San Miguel Watershed. The San Miguel Watershed is impacted by mining-related water quality concerns and low instream flows in the San Miguel River, which pose a threat to native fisheries, during periods of high irrigation demand. The Coalition will broaden its membership through targeted outreach and build on its history of stakeholder engagement to address watershed issues among a diverse partnership including Federal, state, and local government agencies, local conservation groups, and agricultural, mining, and recreational interests. In working toward a watershed restoration plan, the Coalition will monitor water quality throughout the watershed, engage with stakeholders to identify water quality and quantity concerns, and facilitate discussion among the varied interests in the watershed.

Public input will be a critical component in the development of a watershed restoration plan. The Coalition will provide ample opportunity for public engagement in all regions of the watershed and we encourage community members to get involved in this important process!

The Need…
Beetle kill, disease, wildfire, and climate change have the potential to significantly alter the nature of our forest landscape, sometimes rapidly. Whereas bark beetle/disease infestations and wildfires are ecologically important processes of natural disturbance, they can have a wide variety of negative implications for communities. Being aware of these processes and potential outcomes can help communities prepare for and mitigate impacts.

We Propose:
To create a scientifically informed community driven tool which will be used to inform the public and to guide regional land management decisions on both public and private lands. The Landscape Assessment GIS Mapping Project was developed by CSU and Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists to aid the USFS with their management decisions. They will work with us to modify the process down to a local scale providing a picture of current forest conditions, active and proposed treatments and model potential climate change impacts. Community stakeholders will work together to identify community values and locations on the landscape that are of concern.

Higher awareness of natural disturbances and potential changes in the forest landscape due to climate changes will help the community and public land managers make more informed ecologically based decisions of both action and non-action to preserve common values and increase resiliency to potential threats. In addition, stakeholder coordination and collaboration will more effectively guide larger scale management implementation if needed.

Current Stakeholders Include: Regional arborists, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado State Forest Service, Landowners and HOAs, San Miguel County, Parks and Open Space, Natural Resources and Government Affairs, San Miguel County Sherriff’s Office and Emergency Management, Sheep Mountain Alliance, Telluride Foundation, Telluride Ski and Golf, Telluride Fire Protection District, Town of Mountain Village, Town of Ophir, Town of Telluride, United States Forest Service, West Region Wildfire Council

Project Team: Aaron Kimple & Marcie Bidwell, Mountain Studies Institute; Elizabeth Stuffings, San Miguel Watershed Coalition; Jason Sibold, CSU

Click here to read the article by the Watch:
Forest Health Assessment Underway

• Water quality monitoring at 42 sites on the San Miguel River.

• Uploading of 2014 water quality monitoring data on to the Colorado Data Sharing Network (http://www.coloradowaterdata.org/) to allow for increased public access to this data.

• Removal of the Tabeguache diversion structure, allowing native fish critical upstream spawning habitats.

• Repair of a scour hole on the CCC ditch and fish ladder.

• Hosted an interagency watershed event allowing land managers and stakeholders opportunity for watershed updates.

• A new Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/sanmiguelwatershedcoalition

• Periodic email updates.