Southwest - ValleyFloor_TellurideStreamRestoration_Final Report

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Mountain Studies Institute to develop the Telluride Valley Floor Integrated Monitoring Plan to document baseline conditions,track long-term trends on the property, and assess the efficacy of management actions in maintaining the property. The information gathered will assist the Town in the development of adaptive management policies associated with the Valley Floor and help provide an understanding of the benefits and consequences of various management actions. Each of these plans was developed using science and historical data, as well as considerable public input. In 2014,the Town initiated the planning process for the Reach One River Restoration and contracted with ERC to design and build the project.After a year of public input, consideration of the previously mentioned reports and plans, updated monitoring data, consultation with independent experts and extensive site-specific analysis,the final plan and a $1.7M budget was developed and approved by the Town.Additional funding partners include Valley Floor Preservation Partners, San Miguel Watershed Coalition,Trout Unlimited and this Water Supply Reserve Account Grant,which made the Reach One project possible. Objectives of the Reach One project included construction of a multi-stage channel with the long-term goal of improving channel/floodplain connectivity, stream geomorphology, ecosystem function, and habitat conditions within the project reach and downstream. Objectives also included the removal of tailings from excavated soils for the new channel and banks and remediation outside the 100-year flood plain to improve water quality, support regrowth of native grasses, and promote healthy vegetation in areas disturbed during construction.The project was designed to protect existing infrastructure, including the Town's sewer line and existing trails; minimize disruptions to recreationalists and wildlife populations; protect and improve conditions for existing native vegetation; and provide an educational opportunity for the regional community. As a Site Summary,Attachment A illustrates the final pre-construction plans for the proposed channel construction with bank stabilization type, existing tailings locations, proposed tailings mitigation locations, material and staging area with a temporary access road, old channel backfill, and sewer line improvements to continue the existing sewer line under the new river channel. METHODS Timeline: The original timeline proposed an early May 2016 start for water and wildlife mitigation work and targeted completion in late October. 2015/16 was an El Nino winter for the Telluride region, leaving a deep snowpack and a creating a wetter than average monsoon season.The permanent ground water systems on the Valley Floor and the increased surface water saturated the project area late into the summer.Wet conditions, contractor scheduling and material delivery delays pushed the start of pre-construction activities into late June, and excavation work for the sewer system improvements and new channel began in late July.