13000000012 Grant Application

• Contract/PO #: 13000000012
• Contractor Name: Bull Creek Wetlands
• Contract Type: Grant
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Application

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EXHIBIT A
BULL CREEK WETLANDS STUDY DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
This project will be a joint effort of Bull Creek Reservoir Company(BCRC),NatureTech Consultant
Services Corp(NTCS).
BACKGROUND
The Grand Mesa in western Colorado supports over 350 natural lakes and reservoirs. These water
resources are protected under the Clean Water Act administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
many are located on U. S. Forest Service lands. Permits from both agencies(as well as other Federal,
state, and local agencies)are usually required for work on or around these lakes and reservoirs. During
the summer of 2010,BCRC completed construction on Bull Creek Reservoir#4 and was authorized to fill
the reservoir under their original 404 permit. The final permit conditions stipulated that for the first 3
years of reservoir filling monitoring was to be done to assess the potential effects of periodic inundation
on wetlands and fens associated within and adjacent to the reservoir basin. Working with NTCS and
Westwater Engineering, BCRC began the monitoring work in 2010 by laying out the study area
(transects)and gathering baseline data for the wetland values in the reservoir basin. The information
collected at the Bull Creek Reservoir#4 site will be used to develop future monitoring requirements and
management recommendation for other water development projects on the Grand Mesa.
OBJECTIVES
The overall project objective is to assess what if any effects are associated with the periodic inundation of
the wetlands and fens, in this case specifically those within the Bull Creek Reservoir#4 reservoir basin.
The first purpose will be to meet the monitoring requirements identified in the BCRC's special permit
conditions,but the larger purpose is to implement developed monitoring protocols and gather data that
could become the standards that guide other water development projects on the Grand Mesa and other
locations where there are fen or wetlands present.
Project tasks include:
• Refine and further develop vegetation monitoring protocols consistent with existing science
sufficient to monitor the wetland and fens at Bull Creek#4.
• Complete field data collection and monitoring at the Bull Creek Reservoir#4 site.
• Analyze field data collected for incorporation into a comprehensive report.
• Complete and submit the monitoring report to the Army Corps of Engineers and the CWCB.
Method/Procedure:
NTCS will continue to use and refine the two tier sampling protocol initially used during the 2011 season.
The protocol is specific to the vegetation baseline inventory and monitoring that will be used to document
changes within the wetland communities associated with SPK-2008-00722. Fundamental to the protocol
will be the continued development of monitoring techniques sufficient to monitor the following
vegetation parameters: cover/frequency(CF), species composition,and species richness. In addition,the
protocol will also consider the resources required to support and validate the use of the Grand Mesa