By Caty Dundas Gordon, a 2024 summer intern with the CSFS Communications and Communities Division
Colorado’s year-round wildfire season threatens water quality, human health and economy. To protect Colorado’s drinking water, we use active forest management by collaborating with partnerships to promote resilient forests for the future of our watersheds.
In this Article
Lessons from the Upper South Platte
Two million Coloradans rely on water from the Upper South Platte Watershed that covers 2,600 square miles and eight counties. In this region, wildfire impacts have been serious. Since the mid-1990s, the Upper South Platte has had six significant wildfires—several have been uncharacteristic wildfires that significantly damaged this water source:
- The Buffalo Creek Fire burned in 1996 and resulted in 1 million cubic yards of sedimentation flowing into Denver Water’s terminal reservoir, Strontia Springs. The debris created includes ash and dead vegetation, which increased erosion and runoff.
- The Hayman Fire burned in 2002, Colorado’s largest fire at the time. The debris from this fire continues to affect Strontia Springs Reservoir. More than $70 million have been spent to reduce continuing impacts.
With the increased wildfire risk, the Upper South Platte Partnership (USPP) was formed in 2015 to protect communities, forested ecosystems, drinking water and water resources. The USPP is a collaborative organization of professional agencies focused on science-based planning and prioritization.
The Rocky Mountain Restoration Initiative (RMRI), is a stakeholder-driven collaborative that assists the Upper South Platte, which is one of three priority areas across the state. RMRI brings together stakeholder groups to promote collaborative decision making.
Audrey Miles Cherney, watershed coordinator for the USPP, spoke about the need for active forest management: “We may not be able to stop all fires, but by taking proactive steps to reduce fuels and risks, we can help change the behavior of wildfire. By working collaboratively across boundaries among different communities and agencies with different jurisdictions, we can have a greater impact.”
Active forest management helps us pursue our values of conservation, restoration and stewardship of our forests.
Partnerships expand our reach
The CSFS works with multiple agencies at different levels to support landowners, managers and homeowners with Forest Management Plans and to direct land assistance through Forest Ag and homesite assessments. Every entity has its own resources to offer and share. In return, they receive assistance from institutions that have other sharable abilities.
An example of an initiative the CSFS has participated in is a synthesis report released in July 2017, Forest Management to Protect Colorado’s Water Resources, with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB).
Another initiative, The Michigan Ditch project, is aimed at protecting 25 percent of Fort Collins’ drinking water. Within this project, the CSFS, the City of Fort Collins, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the State Land Board work together to protect drinking water and to mitigate any damage to the ditch and historic buildings.
The CSFS also works with other major Front Range water providers, including Colorado Springs Utilities, Northern Water and Aurora Water to identify and prioritize at-risk watersheds for hazardous fuels reduction and forest restoration. Using a collaborative approach, with the best available science, we can magnify the benefits of watershed protection projects.
CSFS Watershed Program Specialist Weston Toll speaks to the power of partnerships: “The Colorado State Forest Service and our water provider partners are working hand in hand to collaborate in high-priority areas where poor forest health could significantly impact water supplies and infrastructure. Along with our federal, state and local partners, we are connecting prior fuels reduction work so we can make an impact on a large scale in our forests for a more sustainable future.”
Through collaborations, we effectively fulfill goals by combining skills and aid one another by giving and receiving support.
Severe fires threaten water quality
High intensity, uncharacteristic wildfires burn all vegetation from the area, increasing erosion and runoff. Soil after a severe fire is highly hydrophobic: it’s covered in a coating that repels water infiltration. The soil becomes destabilized and loose from the lack of support from vegetation. This increases erosion as the soil has almost no reinforcement that’s usually provided by plants and trees. Hillslopes that have been severely burned are especially at risk because as the slope increases, gravity pulls loose soil, water and debris downhill.
The 2016 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests brings up important discussions surrounding water and wildfire. The flows resulting from heavy precipitation after an uncharacteristic wildfire can lead to a cascade of issues downstream, such as impaired water quality, irregular periods of soil degradation and higher water quantity.
In a 2011 study, scientists monitored the sediment levels within tributaries along the South Platte River. They compared the post and pre-fire sediment levels. In more than half the coverage of severely burned areas, sediment levels were 4 times the amount than in low burned. High sediment levels continued for five years after the fire. Large accumulations of sediment can pollute waterways, requiring intensive filtering processes. The excessive buildup also makes these environments unlivable for aquatic life and wildlife. Less severely burned areas saw reduced impacts. These results show when managed areas are burned, the effects are not drastic, and those forests can come back faster and healthier.
Water management in a changing climate
Water managers and partners confront a variety of factors when preparing management plans. In the Collaborative Watershed Assessment of the Upper South Platte Partnership, effective facilitation, process management and coordination help address challenges that come with water management, such as trust and competing knowledge in collaborative settings. Communicating effectively brings awareness to these challenges and allows collaborators to tackle ecological challenges.
There is one concern that will continue to affect management plans in water and all ecological planning: climate change. Unpredictability in climate impacts makes planning a long process due to variable factors like streamflow and precipitation. In the 2008 IPCC Technical Paper 6, differences in predicted changes for the hydrologic cycle are mainly due to variable climate factors and scale. These factors ranged from emissions to air particles in global to regional climates. It is important to understand how climate affects our forests and consequently our water quality.
Wildfires affect economies and health
Intense wildfires create extensive stressors on residents of the affected areas. This includes property loss, smoke impacts, closures of profitable outdoors recreation and health impacts on livestock and soil quality. Many local economies depend on outdoor recreation or agriculture for the economic stability of their counties.
Eagle County created a Community Wildfire Protection Plan that was reviewed by the CSFS in December 2023. This plan highlights the importance of wildfire preparedness for this county, as many areas are at high risk of wildfire. This community depends heavily on the ski industry for jobs and revenue, which can all be jeopardized in the event of a wildfire.
There are also potential health impacts from wildfires in Eagle County, including contaminated drinking water and poor air quality. Wildfire preparation and protection can help reduce these negative health impacts. This example is one way the CSFS and our partners work proactively to address these impacts and protect our water supply.
Forests safeguard water into the future
Water is an essential resource for all living organisms. Landscapes where water flows determine the health of the watershed. Forests are one of these environments that protect watersheds and provide resilient streams. Properly managed forests have better long-term health outcomes. People rely on water for all sorts of things, so it’s important to be aware of intense wildfire impacts on our water supply and use.
As we look toward the future, there are many factors of our water that remain uncertain. Projections change as the climate continues to shift, making it increasingly challenging and crucial to create management plans. With the actions of continuous forest management and estimations in the changing water cycle, we can protect our water. Partnering with other organizations gives our efforts greater impact and inspires others to do the same.
