14d

• Board Meeting Date: 9/17/2008
• Description: Director's Report - CWCB Director
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

in Units 4 and 5 on U.S. Forest Service land, which has been approved and marked. These units
are located a relatively short distance upstream of the Town of Dillon's source water intake on
Straight Creek. A small portion of the downed timber will be left on the ground and used to
construct small sediment retention structures to help reduce sediment loading into Straight Creek
from I-70. The retention structures will be constructed by the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.
The proj ect obj ectives are to (1) mitigate wildfire potential in the vicinity of the Dillon Water
Intake, (2) reduce sediment-loading from I-70 into Straight Creek, and (3) improve forest health
in the units treated. This project is the first step in an ongoing multi-year effort by partners and
stakeholders to protect the Straight Creek watershed and, in particular, to provide water source
protection for the Town of Dillon and Dillon Valley.
The Upper South Platte I~atershed Forest Health Initiative combines the work of volunteers
with utilization of some of the wood that is being cut. A portion of the wood that was cut by
volunteers was split and delivered to Teller County residents in need of fuel for heating. More
than 40 cords of wood was provided to area residents and an additional 50 logs were provided to
a local sawmill. All sales from the logs were donated to the not-for-profit group to in order to
help the needy. Contract work by the Youth Legacy Sawyer crew is being implemented for
another thinning project funded by this grant. The work is expected to be complete by August 30,
2008. Through funds provided by the HB 1130 grant program, the Coalition for the Upper South
Platte was able to obtain additional funding from the Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership.
This photo
illustrates the
heavy fuels that
exist on the Upper
South Platte
Watershed. The
area shown on the
right side of the
photo has been
treated; the area
on the left has not.
The Platte Canyon Fire Protection District has completed cutting and thinning on 65 of the total
120 acres of private land planned for treatment with funds provided through HB 1130 for the
Platte Canyon Fire/Forest Restoration and Water Protection Project. Mitigation efforts have
reduced the threat of large, high-intensity wildfires, helped restore and protect watersheds and
the ecosystem, preserved old and large trees, and educated landowners. The Platte Canyon Fire
Protection District is responsible for protecting the Roberts Tunnel, a critical infrastructure and
fundamental water source that supplies water to 1.5 million Denverites. Protecting this critical
infrastructure and fundamental water source from the pollution and destruction that could result
from a devastating wildland fire is crucial to the health and well-being of the water's recipients.
Mitigation achieved through cutting and thinning the forest contributes to the protection of this
maj or watershed. The HB 113 0 grant has allowed continued work on a comprehensive treatment
strategy for an area that has been identified as an extreme hazard.
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