South Platte Natural Capital Project

"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 for the watershed."

On this page:

• Project Updates
  • South Platte Natural Capital Resource Assessment: Final Report
• Project Maps
• Project Approach
• Natural Assets of Importance
• Team Structure 
• Natural Capital Asset Map and Decision Support Tool 
• Contact Information

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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 South Platte 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.

1.

Project Updates

December 2017

South Platte Natural Capital Resource Assessment: Final Report This resource assessment is a collaborative stakeholder driven assessment of the natural capital of Colorado’s South Platte River Watershed. The resulting resource and tools will guide future investments (conservation and/or restoration activities) undertaken by the South Platte River Urban Waters Partnership.

September 2017

An in-person stakeholder workshop will be held to launch the South Platte Natural Capital Decision Support Tool and demonstrate project prioritization using the outputs from the project.

April 2017

An online and in-person stakeholder workshop was held to present: the final South Platte Natural Capital Asset Map, draft Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV), and initial Prioritization. The project team gathered stakeholder input and suggested revisions to inform the next steps of the project. 

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 team first introduced the Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV) and Prioritization project approaches. The project team gathered stakeholder input and suggested revisions for the next steps of the project

May 2016

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

2.

Project Maps

Land Use in the South Platte Watershed	Natural Capital Project Areas	Natural Capital Asset Map	Ecosystem Services Valuation Map

*Click on a map in the table above to view in full screen. 

3.

Project Approach

Timeline

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.

** indicate stakeholder engagement throughout.

4.

Natural Assets of Importance (NAI)

Stakeholders gave input about what natural assets were most important to them. The charts pictured below show the most important natural assets in the upper South Platte Watershed, the Denver Metro, and the plains region of the watershed. Each asset listed provides essential ecosystem services that influence the economy and quality of life in the South Platte Watershed.

Upper Watershed	Denver Metro	Plains
Native Forest Resources	Urban Ecosystem Resources & Parks	Native Forest Resources
Access to Nature	Access to Nature	Access to Nature
Healthy Waterways	Healthy Waterways	Healthy Waterways
Clean Drinking Water	Clean Drinking Water	Clean Drinking Water
Productive Agricultural Resources	Productive Agricultural  Resources	Productive Agricultural  Resources
Wildlife Habitat	Wildlife Habitat	Wildlife Habitat

5.

Structure and Contacts

Team Structure

The South Platte Natural Capital Project is a collaborative effort, led by the Project Directors and Consultant Team.

List of Partners

Project Contacts:

Lance Davisson
Project Manager, S. Platte River Watershed -- Natural Capital
Phone: (208) 994-1135
E-mail: ldavisson@TheKeystoneConcept.com

Keith Wood
Project Director, S. Platte River Watershed -- Natural Capital
Phone: (303) 438-9338
E-mail: keith.wood@colostate.edu