St. Vrain Creek Adaptive Management Passage Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The St. Vrain Creek Adaptative Management Passage Program in Boulder County, Colorado includes two pilot projects: Niwot Ditch Passage (NDP) and Longmont Supply Passage (LSP). Both projects were identified as critical to the welfare of local human and wildlife communities and provide many ecosystem services. This intergovernmental effort on the St. Vrain Creek includes landowners, water rights owners, state and federal conservation/permitting/funding agencies, as well as K-12, college, and non-profits. The goal was to restore and protect infrastructure and provide ecological uplift to this heavily managed waterway. Creative solutions were necessary to meet commonly beneficial needs. The project design and construction teams were specifically built upon the understanding that this would be a complex field-fitting project requiring flexibility, compromise, and perseverence. Success of the projects has been well documented with measures including total acres of restored or created riparian and wetland habitat, tons of carbon sequestered, post-construction hydrologic & hydraulic modeled changes, quantitative surveys of native fish, % survival of native vegetation benefitting endangered species, proven water delivery through the constructed ditch diversion systems, and post-construction monitoring data. We are adaptively managing in order to increase long-term multi-objective success.