Put on your hydrology hats, folks, we’re talking WARSSS! Last week, Dave Rosgen, Ph.D., renowned hydrologist and principal of Wildland Hydrology, presented the highly anticipated results of the WARSSS assessment for the Waldo Canyon Burn Area. As the road map for land management activities from here on out, the WARSSS document, or Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply, is a comprehensive analysis on the condition of the land burned by the fire.  This analysis tells us where the highest priorities for restoration are based on the current and potential status of the area’s waterways and hill slopes.

And the results? “The reduction in forest vegetative cover (trees and gambel oak) following the Waldo Canyon Fire created a major reduction in evapo-transpiration leading to an increase in the magnitude and frequency of floods as a result of precipitation events.” Layman translation: fewer trees and ground cover means more water and sediment pulsing faster through streams after rain storms in the burn area. This document tells us where, why and how the land has been damaged and can be repaired after the fire. The assessment highlighted locations where processes such as road, trail and stream bank erosion are occurring. It also outlines what can be done to prevent downstream impacts to infrastructure, property and riparian vegetation.

This is where we step in.

RMFI’s initial restoration focus is getting ground cover on hill slopes and stabilizing drainages and waterways. Rosgen’s analysis has identified both impaired streams (or “representative reaches”) as well as unimpaired streams (or “reference reaches”), setting the foundation for what is degraded and what is working. With Rosgen’s analysis, we can move forward with work on Forest Service land. Utilizing volunteers and youth corps crews, we will install structures on steep slopes and in valley bottoms. Erosion control designs such as log sills or log toe catches will slow water and prevent erosion on barren hill sides while gulley plugs and bank stabilization will prevent erosion in stream channels and drainage ways. Heavy machinery work includes digging sediment detention basins to capture moving soil and redesigning road infrastructure to allow for larger storm events.

We have a long road to recovery ahead of us, and we look forward to working with members of our community to help protect our region from the impacts of a post-fire landscape. Stay tuned for open enrollment work days, and come ready to get charred and dirty in the name of watershed health and restoration!

Read the WARSSS document here.