Community and Learning
SMP/IWMP leaders and practitioners from around the State continue to collaborate to share their knowledge and build support systems for each other as they work through their planning processes. Below you will find links to recorded peer-calls and presentations/notes from peer-learning workshops. All upcoming peer-learning events are also listed, along with registration information.
Environmental Flows Cohort Opportunity
Is your coalition interested in setting or meeting environmental flow recommendations on your river?
Would working alongside your peers in a cohort be helpful?
Learn more and indicate your interest here
We will accept indications of interest until Friday, February 10th, 2023
Upcoming Events
Peer Call
Topic TBD
Wednesday, April 5th, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Previous Events
Peer Calls
Federal Funding for Implementation
1/19/2023
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Trout Unlimited, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Saint Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District (SVLHWCD), and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) presented information about current federal funding opportunities that can support implementation of Stream Management Plans and Integrated Watershed Management Plans. Trout Unlimited and SVLHWCD shared their experiences navigating NRCS grant funding programs and CWCB will provide information on their new capacity building grants.
Presentations included:
Federal Funding Overview, Elle Benson, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Summiting the Funding Mountain: Peaks and Valleys using NRCS Grants to Achieve Healthy Rivers, Jesse Kruthaupt and Kyle Balint, Trout Unlimited
PL-566 Funding and a Sponsor Experience, Blongshia “B” Cha, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service; Scott Griebling, Saint Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District
CWCB Federal Technical Assistance Grants & Team, Anna Mauss, Colorado Water Conservation Board
View the agenda and additional resources.
View the video recording of the call.
SMPs and Forest Health
4/14/2022
Participants joined River Network, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Mountain Studies Institute, and the Boulder Watershed Collective in a conversation about integrating forest health into Stream Management Plans. Together we thought through why it’s important for SMPs to include an element of forest health, how to incorporate forest health into SMPs, and the benefits of doing so.
Presentations were heard from:
Ask a Practitioner
Data Management and Tools
8/15/21
Hannah Holm, Director of the Hutchins Water Center at Colorado Mesa University, and Seth Mason, Principal Hydrologist at Lotic Hydrological, discuss their approaches and experience with managing the vast amounts of data that typically result from a river health assessment. They cover two aspects of data within the SMP process:
Using Recreation Surveys to Understand Community Preferences
8/26/20
Holly Loff, Eagle River Watershed Council and Laurie Rink, Middle Colorado Watershed Council discuss their customized approaches to understanding their community’s preferences on river flows, uses, and access. More information on the American Whitewater flow preference survey and other approaches for understanding river-based recreation can be found here.
View the 16-minute video
Peer Workshops
Stream Management Plans 101
10/20/2022
Are you interested in learning if a Stream Management Plan is a good fit for your community? Join River Network and the Colorado Water Conservation Board to learn the basics of SMPs, including their history, steps in the planning process, five years of accomplishments, and how to get started. You’ll also hear from the Mancos, South Boulder Creek, and Saint Vrain and Left Hand SMP leads about the methods and outcomes of their Stream Management Plans.
View the agenda, slides, and speaker Q&A responses
Stream Management Planning Workshop
10/10/2022
During this workshop, held prior to the 2022 Sustaining Colorado Watersheds Conference in Avon, CO, participants learned about the updated Colorado Water Plan, including Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) grant opportunities and the proposed Colorado River Health Assessment Framework (CORHAF). In addition, participants had the chance to problem solve common challenges related to stream and integrated watershed management planning with experts and their peers.
Colorado Water Plan Update & CWCB Funding, Russ Sands and Anna Mauss, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Colorado River Health Assessment Framework, Chris Sturm and Steven Reeves, Colorado Water Conservation Board; Brad Johnson, Johnson Environmental Consulting; Seth Mason, Lotic Hydrological
Peer Problem Solving Activity, Stacy Beaugh, Strategic By Nature
View the agenda.