Chatfield Reservoir Expansion Offsite Mitigation

Great Ecology served as the habitat mitigation consultant for a water storage expansion project at the Chatfield Reservoir in Douglas County, CO. The project was expected to impact wetland, tree, and bird resources, as well as critical habitat for the federally endangered Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei). Great Ecology conducted thorough assessments to identify potentially suitable mitigation properties, outreached to property owners to understand property availability, and conducted vegetation assessments and ecological functional assessments for stream channels, riparian, and upland areas within the Douglas County-designated Riparian Conservation Zone. We also conducted Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and developed baseline documentation for the priority mitigation sites. The project required extensive coordination with Douglas County Open Spaces and Natural Resources, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and multiple other organizations and regulatory agencies.

Ultimately, two properties totaling more than 2,500 acres of habitat in Douglas County were permanently protected as part of the mitigation project. Great Ecology developed habitat management plans for these sites and conducted mitigation site monitoring for a five-year period.