Dolores River

PRE-PROPOSAL

NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION

2005 CENTENNIAL YEAR MATCHING AWARDS PROGRAM
PRE-PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

*Please do not attach a cover letter on top of the cover sheet*

Date Received: _____________________        Project #: ___5CY - 25

(Do not write above this line)

ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:

Organization:  Fort Lewis College, Office of Community Services_(FLC/OCS)_

Street: 1000 Rim Drive___________________

City, State, Zip: ___Durango, Colorado, 81301

Phone Number: _(970) 565-8525_________  Fax Number: (970) 565-3420__

Web Address: __http://ocs.fortlewis.edu/programs.htm

PROJECT INFORMATION:

Project Title: Dolores River Dialogue Watershed and Riparian Enhancement Project_

Two Sentence Project Summary:

The project will expand Dolores River Dialogue hydrology and core science assessments to a watershed scale to address sediment loads, tamarisk impacts, hydrologic conditions and water quality via restoration activities and watershed management recommendations.

Location of Project (State, National Forest(s), District, Site): The primary focus of the Project is in Colorado on the Dolores District San Juan National Forest and BLM lands, managed by the San Juan Public Lands Center

Commencement Date: January 2006_________ Completion Date: December, 2006__________(No later than 12/06)

Project Contact: Michael Preston, Associate Director Office of Community Services, Fort Lewis College_________

Phone: __(970) 565-8525______ Email address: preston_m@fortlewis.edu

FUNDS:

National Forest Foundation funds requested: $__50,000_
Anticipated Non-Federal Donor Funds:  
Colorado Watershed Protection Fund_ $__25,000
Dolores Water Conservancy District $___5,000
The Nature Conservancy__________  $___5,000
Colorado Water Conservation Board $___5,000
San Juan Citizens Alliance_______ $___5,000
Montezuma County____________ $___5,000

Mail with attachments to: National Forest Foundation, 2715 M Street, NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC  20007 by August 29, 2005.


National Forest Foundation 2005 Matching Awards Program

Dolores River Dialogue Watershed and Riparian Enhancement Project

Background

When McPhee Reservoir on the main stem of the Dolores River was completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1986, the primary considerations addressed below the reservoir were the future of rafting and establishment of a cold water trout fishery on the first 11 miles below the Reservoir. McPhee provides a firm supply of agricultural and municipal water to most of Montezuma and Dolores Counties, and perennial flows below the dam in a river that previously ran dry or near dry during many summers.

Since the Dolores Project came fully on line it has become apparent that maximizing the ecological and social benefits of the Dolores River and the Dolores River watershed, given available base flows and spring spills, involves a complex set of issues concerning 200 miles of the Dolores River between the McPhee Reservoir and the Colorado River as well as the 4,620 square miles of southwestern Colorado and Southeastern Utah that make up the Dolores River Watershed. As Map 1 indicates, the watershed includes a mix of National Forest and BLM land and small amounts of private land in 2 states and 6 counties.

In January of 2004 the Dolores River Dialogue (DRD) was convened made up of water management entities, conservation groups, and Federal, state and local government stakeholders. The DRD, after laying out the full range of stakeholder issues and interests, developed a “Plan to Proceed” which called for the formation of a Core Hydrology Group, and a Core Science Team that has produced reports that assemble and build on what is known about the ecology and hydrology of the Dolores River. Based on these assessments the DRD Technical Team developed a framework for considering hydrograph options and resulting benefit matrices to evaluate opportunities to manage the flows from McPhee Reservoir and target restoration opportunities to the benefit of enhanced riparian vegetation, geomorphology, warm water fisheries, cold water fisheries and rafting. Work on the part of the core science team has made it clear that meeting the objectives within the riparian corridor will require addressing the watershed as a whole, and that monitoring conditions within the river corridor will provide the best indicator of watershed management needs and progress.

Demonstrable Benefits to National Forests and Communities

The funding requested from NFF will move the progress already made by the DRD hydrology and core science efforts to a watershed scale, while beginning to identify key areas on the river corridor for restoration and tamarisk removal to the intended benefit of warm water fish populations that are currently considered as sensitive species by the CDOW and USFS. Several key habitat issues related to the health of warm water fisheries have been identified and will be addressed using NFF funds, including:

    • Sediment loads and the effects on reproduction of key warm water fish species and related watershed management recommendations.
    • The role of tamarisk on the geomorphology of the riparian corridor and tamarisk removal from key habitats within the riparian corridor and related recommendations for future management of the watershed.
    • Floodplain analysis to determine hydrologic conditions of the riparian corridor.
    • Reach surveys to determine sediment loads coming from individual tributaries within the watershed.
    • Water quality studies in order to determine tributary contributions to salinity and other potential factors which may be important to water quality along the lower Dolores River and related recommendations for watershed management.

The resulting integration of several disciplines will be used to monitor and design management programs that will enhance the lower Dolores River by addressing the effects of land use practices on runoff, erosion, and off-site impacts known as cumulative watershed effects (CWEs). The significance of a CWE varies with the type of resource or value impacted and is determined on political, economic, and cultural grounds. In contrast, impact magnitude can be assessed objectively by measuring physical and biological changes.

In addition to providing objective measurements of the health of the Dolores River, NFF funding will support ongoing efforts to align the values of several communities of interest including the water management, conservation, recreation, land management, wildlife and local government interests that make up the Dolores River Dialogue. The funding will also allow for engagement on the part of federal, state and local government entities to expand to a watershed scale. At the core of this expanded scope is the San Juan Public Lands Center, which is considered a model for integrating the management of San Juan National Forest and BLM lands. As Map 1 illustrates, ecological management of the Dolores watershed will also benefit from involving the Uncompahgre National Forest in the northeastern part of the watershed and the Manti-LaSal National Forest to the west in Utah as well as adjacent communities.

Relevance to NFF 2005 Special MAP Priorities

This ecological and institutional integration at a watershed scale to address the links between watershed management and the health of the Dolores River addresses NFF objectives for Watershed Health and Restoration, Wildlife Habitat Improvement (warm water fish), and Invasive Species (tamarisk), and peripherally the growing recreation pressure on the river and throughout the watershed. The scientific measurements that will be established to monitor ecological factors will also be supplemented by measures of institutional collaboration and community benefits.

Community Support and Involvement

Community involvement is ensured through the transparency and collaborative nature of the DRD process and opportunities for input from the DRD process into the ongoing community based San Juan Forest and BLM Plan Revision process and the related Governmental Water Roundtable.

Organizational Missions and Past Project Accomplishments

The applicant for the NFF funds is the Fort Lewis College, Office of Community Services (FLC/OCS) whose mission is to assist local communities to develop strategies that deal with growth and change, including collaborative relationships among local, state and federal units of government and applied use of the academic and institutional resources of Fort Lewis College. FLC/OCS has played in instrumental role in the Ponderosa Pine Forest Partnership which has restored 8,000 acres of ponderosa pine forests, primarily in the Dolores Watershed, in cooperation with the San Juan National Forest, Montezuma County, Colorado Timber Industry Association, the Biology Department at FLC and Natural Resources Dept. at Colorado State University. FLC/OCS developed an assessment for The Four Corners Sustainable Forests Partnership: “Lessons and Strategies for Community Forestry Capacity Building.” FLC/OCS has facilitated the development of Community Fire Plans in five Southwest Colorado counties in accordance with HFRA. FLC/OCS facilitated the Dolores River Valley Working Group and Plan to limit development density, protect water quality and implement a Transferable Development Rights system in the Dolores River Valley above McPhee Reservoir under the auspices of the Montezuma County Commission. FLC/OCS is also in a partnership with the SJPLC to facilitate community involvement in the San Juan Forest and BLM Management Plan Revisions. These and other projects can be viewed at http://ocs.fortlewis.edu/programs.htm

The Dolores River Dialogue is a multi-stakeholder effort aimed at improving the environment of the Dolores River downstream of McPhee Dam, while protecting or enhancing human uses of the Dolores River resource. NFF funds will be used, in part, to engage Fort Lewis College faculty and students in core science work that has been identified by the DRD Core Science Report prepared by a team of USFS, BLM, USBOR, and Academic scientists.

Map 1

National Forest Foundation 2005 Matching Awards Program

Dolores River Dialogue Watershed and Riparian Enhancement Project

General Study Area