San Miguel Watershed Coalition urges county help to fund watershed wildfire readiness plan

Adrian Berger, executive director of the San Miguel Watershed Coalition, told the San Miguel County Board of County Commissioners on July 16 that the coalition seeks funding and local support to complete a watershed-scale Wildfire Ready Action Plan, or RAP, that would model post‑fire flood and sediment impacts and identify prioritized pre‑ and post‑fire projects.

Berger said the state-run RAP framework, administered through the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), favors communities that produce watershed plans before seeking implementation grants. “The CWCB requires 25% match,” Berger said, adding that half of that match may be in‑kind contributions. He also said the coalition “still need[s] $70,000” in additional cash commitments to reach a realistic budget for a full application and to cover consultant costs.

Why it matters: Colorado’s RAP program is intended to reduce the downstream impacts of wildfire — notably flooding, sedimentation, and damage to water infrastructure — by funding engineering and planning work in advance of fires. For a rural watershed such as the Upper San Miguel, the coalition argued, doing the technical hydrologic and hydraulic modeling ahead of a fire shortens emergency response time and helps secure federal emergency funding after an incident.

What the plan would produce: Berger described a multi‑year process that combines a susceptibility assessment (HUC‑12 subwatersheds), stakeholder engagement, GIS and hydrologic datasets, and post‑fire hazard modeling using standard Army Corps tools (HEC‑RAS and HEC‑HMS) or the coalition’s own integrated hydrologic model. He said the state’s HUC‑12 cost estimator initially returned about $600,000 for the San Miguel watershed; the coalition solicited a SWCA bid at about $400,000 and hopes to reduce costs further by leveraging existing CWPP (community wildfire protection plan) GIS assets and Montrose County’s recent CWPP work.

Funding and timeline: The coalition is targeting the CWCB Water Plan grant round that opens Dec. 1 and described the RAP as a three‑year project, with year one largely devoted to stakeholder engagement. Berger said the town of Telluride has committed $30,000 toward the local match; he asked San Miguel County to consider a cash contribution and suggested county staff explore parks/open‑space funding as a potential source. Commissioners said they were supportive of further discussion and asked staff to agendize a formal contribution request and options during the county’s budget cycle.

Questions and concerns raised: Commissioners and other attendees pressed on the scale and downstream benefits of the plan, the distinction and overlap between a RAP and a CWPP (the CWPP focuses on fuels and defensible space around structures; a RAP focuses on watershed‑scale post‑fire hydrology), and whether the coalition could use its internal hydrologic model rather than Army Corps tools familiar to federal agencies such as NRCS. Berger said using the coalition’s model could save money but noted that federal emergency managers historically rely on Army Corps products. He also confirmed that some specialized hydrologic analysis tasks would likely be subcontracted by the prime consultant.

Next steps: Commissioners asked staff to prepare a proposal for how the county might contribute — including the possibility of money from the county’s parks and open‑space fund — and to place the item on an upcoming meeting for a formal decision. Berger said the coalition will continue fundraising with other local governments, foundations and regional districts, and will refine its grant application if local matching commitments are confirmed.

Ending: Berger thanked the board and said the coalition would return with a more specific funding ask; commissioners agreed to consider the request during budget deliberations and to coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions for additional match and in‑kind contributions.