As we move into the final month of the year, it’s time to offer an update on our work with the Colorado Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) project. This emergency recovery work is being completed in response to the devastating September 2013 floods, which impacted counties across Colorado’s Front Range. The program provides financial and technical support to community-based project sponsors to reduce erosion and impacts from future flooding, protect streambanks, remove debris, and more.

Great Ecology is working with state and federal agencies, counties, design teams, watershed coordinators, and landowners in order to design revegetation plans for 46 EWP projects. We have completed initial revegetation plans for 23 sites, and installation has started on 2 of those sites, which included overseeing approximately 445 volunteers who participated in planting days as part of the revegetation efforts. In addition to the 46 revegetation plans, Great Ecology is on the Technical Assistance Team and providing design reviews for the remaining 29 EWP projects. Great Ecology is also providing oversight and developing protocols to the Colorado State Forest Service Nursery for collection and propagation of ecotypic native plants to be used for revegetating all 75 EWP projects.