The Dolores Watersheds Collaborative is asking residents to weigh in on a new plan focused on wildfire impacts in the upper Dolores River watershed.
The group is developing a Wildfire Ready Action Plan, or WRAP, to better understand where a major wildfire could increase the risk of flooding, erosion, debris flows and sedimentation.
Coordinator Nina Williams said the project is focused on what can happen after a high-intensity fire, especially if it is followed by a major rainstorm.
“That can look like increased flooding, debris flows, hill slope erosion, runoff, or increased sedimentation,” Williams said. “And that type of event can pose some significant risks to things that we value in our community.”
Williams said those risks could affect infrastructure, bridges, culverts, roads, homes, water infrastructure, ditches and head gates.
The planning area covers about 600,000 acres, from Lizard Head Pass down through the upper watershed and toward Dove Creek. Williams said the analysis looks at risks to life and property, water infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources.
The planning effort is supported through the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Wildfire Ready Watersheds program. According to a press release from the Dolores Watersheds Collaborative, the project includes post-fire hazard modeling, mapping high-value community assets and resources, and identifying areas in the watershed that may be most susceptible to post-fire hazards.
Williams said the plan is not meant to raise alarm, but to help communities prepare before a fire happens. Possible mitigation projects could include fuels reduction and forest treatments, stream restoration, replacing culverts, protecting utility infrastructure, or work in floodplains and wetlands to slow water and capture sediment.
The first public meetings will introduce the project and share results from hazard and susceptibility modeling. Residents will also be asked to help identify local priorities.
The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, at Rico Town Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The second is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, at the Dolores Community Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A Towaoc meeting is expected later in the summer.
A second workshop is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Dolores Community Center. That meeting will focus on possible mitigation projects and community input on which projects should be prioritized. A final meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9.
