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. T : * ¦f'< - ',.v. . CD Natural Capital Resource Assessment South Platte River Watershed .n&45i. * ' r . ¦¦< f A -rWM M life 111 mm 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 ------- 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 ------- |