South Platte Natural Capital Project
"Collaborating toward a robust assessment and planning tools to guide strategic investment in a healthy South Platte River Watershed. Building lasting relationships through a common vision for the watershed."
On this page:
- Project Updates
- Project Maps
- Project Approach
- Natural Assets of Importance
- Team Structure
- Natural Capital Asset Map and Decision Support Tool
- Contact Information
Summary
The South Platte Watershed Natural Capital -- From Mountains to Plains Resource Assessment, also called the South Platte Natural Capital Project, is a collaborative green infrastructure assessment. The Colorado State Forest Service leads this effort with funding from the USDA Forest Service as part of the South Platte River Urban Waters Partnership.
The purpose of the South Platte Natural Capital Project is to build on existing studies in the South Platte River corridor and watershed to:
- Create an assessment that maps and evaluates the regional network of green infrastructure. This includes the interconnected network of critical watershed forests, riparian corridors, wetlands, streams, lakes and the river.
- Prioritize key areas for conservation and restoration based on the economic value of the benefits people obtain from those natural systems, or "ecosystem services," for the South Platte River corridor and watershed.
- Sustain and enhance the sharing of ideas, data, and resources across organizations and land ownership toward accomplishment of common goals.
1.
Project Updates
December 2017
South Platte Natural Capital Resource Assessment: Final Report This resource assessment is a collaborative stakeholder driven assessment of the natural capital of Colorado’s South Platte River Watershed. The resulting resource and tools will guide future investments (conservation and/or restoration activities) undertaken by the South Platte River Urban Waters Partnership.
September 2017
An in-person stakeholder workshop will be held to launch the South Platte Natural Capital Decision Support Tool and demonstrate project prioritization using the outputs from the project.
April 2017
An online and in-person stakeholder workshop was held to present: the final South Platte Natural Capital Asset Map, draft Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV), and initial Prioritization. The project team gathered stakeholder input and suggested revisions to inform the next steps of the project.
October 2016
An in-person stakeholder workshop was held to update the stakeholders on: data collection, the draft South Platte Natural Capital Asset Mapping and Natural Assets of Importance. The team first introduced the Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV) and Prioritization project approaches. The project team gathered stakeholder input and suggested revisions for the next steps of the project
May 2016
An in-person stakeholder workshop was held to kick off the project, introduce the planning team, approach, and means of stakeholder engagement.
2.
Project Maps
Land Use in the South Platte Watershed | Natural Capital Project Areas | Natural Capital Asset Map | Ecosystem Services Valuation Map |
---|---|---|---|
3.
Project Approach
Timeline
The South Platte Natural Capital Project is a collaborative effort. The Project Team is working to develop a robust green infrastructure assessment for the South Platte Watershed with guidance from the Project Directors and frequent input from Stakeholders.
** indicate stakeholder engagement throughout.4.
Natural Assets of Importance (NAI)
Stakeholders gave input about what natural assets were most important to them. The charts pictured below show the most important natural assets in the upper South Platte Watershed, the Denver Metro, and the plains region of the watershed. Each asset listed provides essential ecosystem services that influence the economy and quality of life in the South Platte Watershed.
Upper Watershed | Denver Metro | Plains |
---|---|---|
Native Forest Resources |
Urban Ecosystem Resources & Parks |
Native Forest Resources |
Access to Nature | Access to Nature | Access to Nature |
Healthy Waterways | Healthy Waterways | Healthy Waterways |
Clean Drinking Water | Clean Drinking Water | Clean Drinking Water |
Productive Agricultural Resources | Productive Agricultural Resources | Productive Agricultural Resources |
Wildlife Habitat | Wildlife Habitat | Wildlife Habitat |
5.
Structure and Contacts
Team Structure
The South Platte Natural Capital Project is a collaborative effort, led by the Project Directors and Consultant Team.
List of Partners
- Colorado State Forest Service
- US Forest Service: Rocky Mountain Region
- US Environmental Protection Agency: Region 8
- Ecosystem Sciences Foundation
- Earth Economics
- Plan-It Geo
- Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir Watershed Association
- Centers for Disease Control: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- City and County of Denver
- Aurora Water
- Colorado Forest Restoration Institute
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program
- Coalition for the Upper South Platte
- Colorado Foundation for Water Education
- Colorado Trout Unlimited
- Denver Water
- US Environmental Protection Agency: Region 8
- Groundwork Denver
- Institute for Environmental Science
- Jefferson Conservation District
- LLG International
- Metro Basin Roundtable
- Metro Wastewater Reclamation District
- National Park Service
- South Platte Basin Roundtable
- The Greenway Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- The Park People
- The Trust for Public Land
- Natural Resource Conservation Service
- US Forest Service
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Geological Survey
Project Contacts:
Lance Davisson
Project Manager, S. Platte River Watershed -- Natural Capital
Phone: (208) 994-1135
E-mail: [email protected]
Keith Wood
Project Director, S. Platte River Watershed -- Natural Capital
Phone: (303) 438-9338
E-mail: [email protected]