Science & Monitoring Team Meeting

Sept 23rd

Agenda

• Introductions• Overview of CPRW & CO Conservation Exchange• Review draft charter/workplan• Watershed Analysis – Issues, Questions, and Goals• Watershed Analysis – Available Information • Follow up tasks/next steps

Aim for Meeting Today

• Identify missing key stakeholders• Preliminary list of values and issues• Preliminary questions/goals• Identify key information gaps (spatial layers, basic research, etc)

Overview - Exchange

• Upper Poudre Watershed pilot• criteria/approach for Big T.

Overview - CPRW

• Mission: to improve and maintain the ecological health of the Poudre River Watershed through community collaboration• Community watershed plan • Implementation informed by

stakeholder planning

Representation

• Are we missing anyone?

Draft Charter

PURPOSE

• Advise on critical issues, values at risk• Recommend goals & objectives• Conduct watershed analysis• Identify priority areas for

treatment• Develop monitoring protocols

linked to return on investment

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

• Upper Poudre• Big Thompson

Draft Charter

PEOPLE• Open to anyone • Ongoing participation

PROCESS• Meetings facilitated by CPRW

and TNC; meet every 6-8 weeks• 80-20 consensus rule

Work PlanWatershed Restoration Planning

• Identify key questions to be addressed through landscape analysis• Determine what analyses have already been done• Identify necessary data• Determine criteria and process for prioritizing restoration areas• Develop a plan for monitoring effectiveness of treatments

Watershed Analysis – Issues/values

Ecosystem services• Healthy riverine habitat• Upland wildlife habitat• Delivery of water supply• ?• ??• ???

Watershed Issues/threats• Wildfires (out of historical range)

• High fuel loads in forests• Insect related tree mortality• ?• ??• ???

Key Questions

• What forested areas are out of their historical range of variation (wildfire)?• Are there areas of the watershed that are in their range but have

ecosystem services at high risk? (what tod about them?)• Is HRV an appropriate criteria?• What areas are critical for generating water supply? • ?

Available Information – Regional & Beyond• USFS Condition Framework

• USFS lands at national scope but analysis of 6th HUC • Classifying ‘functioning properly’ to ‘function impaired’ based on 12 env

indicators

• Upper Monument Creek• Sustain important landscape values and ecological function through restoration• Landscape, ~70,000 acres• Information used: Values at risk, burn probability maps, forest types, Landscape

Conservation Forecasting decision support tool

• Rio Grande, Mokelumne, Latin American Water Funds

Available Information – Poudre WatershedJW Associates 2010

AssessmentUSFS CFLRP CO-WRAP CSFS Action Plan ?

Goal id & prioritize sixth-level watersheds based upon theirhazards to water supplies & collaboration

Restore lower-montane forest structure; reduce wildfire hazard; protect communities

Identify wildfire risks

Conserve working forest landscapes,Protect forests from harm, enhance benefits

Spatial scale upper Poudre Watershed Front Range – USFS lands (A.R. and Pike)

Statewide; multi-scalar

State-wide spatial layers

Info. Used Wildfire HazardFlooding or Debris Flow HazardSoil ErodibilityWater Supply Ranking>Colorado Watershed Protection Data Refinement Work Group (2009)

Forest types, elevational gradients, WUI

Forest types, surface fuels, WUI, fire occurrence information

LANDFIRE vegDrink. water sourcesWildlife (econ & imperiled)RecWUIWildfre susceptibility & intensity ……

Available Information Examples – Poudre Watershed• USFS Fuels Reduction Planning

Gaps/constraints/questions

• What has changed since key analyses were completed?• Are there known data gaps/layers? • Do we have fine enough spatial resolution to meet our data needs?• Can or should we fill gaps/constraints?• What approach to use for prioritization?• ?• ??

Next Steps

• Data team • Solicit post-fire ‘task force’• Field tour? • Next meeting date

Review feedback, summarize, and share