ODD Natural Capital Resource Assessment

South Platte River Watershed

Collaborating toward a robust assessment and planning tools to guide strategic investment in a
healthy South Platte River watershed & building lasting relationships through a common vision

Project Summary

The South Platte Watershed Natural Capital - From Mountains to Plains Resource Assessment, also called the
South Platte Natural Capital Project, is a collaborative green infrastructure assessment. The Colorado State Forest
Service leads this effort with funding from the USDA Forest Service as part of the South Platte River Urban Waters
Partnership. The purpose of the South Platte Natural Capital Project is to build on existing studies in the river
corridor and watershed to:

•	Create an assessment that maps and evaluates the regional network of green infrastructure. This includes
the interconnected network of critical watershed forests, riparian corridors, wetlands, streams, lakes and
the river.

•	Prioritize key areas for conservation and restoration based on the economic value of the benefits people
obtain from those natural systems, or "ecosystem services", for the South Platte River corridor and
watershed.

•	Sustain and enhance the sharing of ideas, data, and resources across organizations and land ownership
toward accomplishment of common goals.

Project Updates

May 2016: An in-person stakeholder
workshop was held to kick off the project,
introduce the planning team, approach,
and means of stakeholder engagement.

October 2016: An in-person stakeholder
workshop was held to update the
stakeholders on: data collection, the draft
South Platte Natural Capital Asset
Mapping, and Natural Assets of
Importance. The project team first
introduced the Ecosystem Services
Valuation (EVS) and Prioritization project
approaches. The Project team gathered
stakeholder input and suggested revisions
to inform the next steps of the project.

April 2017: An online and in-person
stakeholder workshop was held to
present: the final Natural Capital Asset
Map, draft ESV outputs, mapping and
additional Prioritization outputs and
mapping. The project team gathered
stakeholder input and suggested revisions
to inform the next steps of the project.

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Finalized in April 2017, the Natural Assets of Importance Map depicts the region's
green infrastructure network and serves as the foundation for the project's
ecosystem services valuation and prioritization components.

April 2017


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Upcoming Meetings; The final stakeholder workshop and South Platte Natural Capital Assessment project launch will be
held in summer/fall 2017.

Project Approach and Team Structure

The South Platte Natural Capital Project is a collaborative effort. The Project Team is working to develop a robust
green infrastructure assessment for the South Platte Watershed with guidance from the Project Directors and
frequent input from Stakeholders. The South Platte Natural Capital Project is a collaborative effort, led by the
Project Directors and Consultant Team.

*'INVESTIGATION
March - June 2016

5/17/2016 Stakeholder Team
Kickoff In Denver

Data

Stakeholder
Team

META-ANALYStS

June - August 2016

"ID, MAP, VALUATE

June - Oct 2016

10/18/2016 Stakeholder
Workshop in Denver

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

July 2016 -May 2017

Existing Studies

Natural Assets

Ecosystem
Services
Valuation

Assessments &
Tools

Ecosystem
Services

PROJECT MANAGER

Ecosystem Sciences
Foundation

PROJECT DIRECTORS

CO State FS / US EPA /
USFS

GIS/TOOL DEVELOP

Plan-It Geo

WATERSHED ANALYSIS

Ecosystem Sciences
Foundation

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Earth Economics

••PRIORITIZATION

Juty 2016-May 2017

4/6/2017 On-lif*e
Stakeholder Workshop

Stakeholder
Identified
Priorities

STAKEHOLDER TEAM

33 key stakeholders
(Upper Watershed / Metro
Denver / Plains)

ASSESSMENT REPORT &

USER GUIDE
April - late summer 2017
Project launch with
Stakeholder Team m Denver
(date TBD summer/fafl 2017)

Resources for
Strategic
Watershed
Investment

Key Contacts

Lance Davisson, Project Manager

Phone:(208)994-1135

E-mail: ldavisson(5)TheKevstoneConcept.com

Keith Wood, Project Director

Phone (303) 438-9338

E-mail: keith.wood@colostate.edu

For more information and updates visit: www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/south-platte-natural-capital-proiect

April 2017


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