Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership details Ironton fen restoration, monitoring wells installed

Tanya Ishikawa, executive director of the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP), briefed commissioners on 2025 work and introduced a technical presentation on the Ironton fen and wetlands restoration project by Jake Kurzweil of the Mountain Studies Institute.

Ishikawa said UWP will not request county community‑grant funding this year because the county is unable to fund those grants at present, but asked the county to support the group with letters and partnership where possible. She reported UWP income through Nov. 1 of $134,750 (grants $56,000; Riverfest and duck race ~$15,000; donations $35,000; investment and other income ~$19,750) and expenses of $153,500, producing an approximate $18,000 year‑to‑date deficit that UWP expects to address with year‑end fundraising and reserves.

Jake Kurzweil, research hydrologist for the Mountain Studies Institute, described the Ironton area as a high‑value restoration target at the headwaters of Red Mountain Creek. He explained that fens (peat wetlands) act like a natural sponge—storing water, sequestering carbon and providing biochemical conditions that promote precipitation of metals out of streamflows. Kurzweil said monitoring shows some fen surfaces can accrete 2–3 feet of peat in certain places; preserving and restoring that peat is central to improving downstream water quality.

Kurzweil summarized recent field work: nonintrusive slatted PVC observation wells were installed about two weeks before the meeting (all work permitted through the U.S. Forest Service and the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison—GMUG—Forest supervisor area) to identify the shallow water table and inform restoration design. He said some sites appeared wet enough that excavation to reach groundwater may not be necessary and described typical restoration steps (establishing groundwater, planting sedge clones and seed, and encouraging stream sinuosity to slow flows and expand hyporheic exchange).

He highlighted legacy mining and channelization impacts in Red Mountain Creek, noting some reaches are highly mineralized and can run near pH 2.8. Kurzweil framed the work as a top‑of‑watershed effort likely to yield downstream benefits and described a near‑term schedule: finish design work over winter, complete delineations and permitting next spring (permits are valid for multiple years) and then apply for construction funding.

Commissioners and presenters discussed partnership opportunities with Ouray Hydro to reduce debris capture at a downstream dam and whether beaver reintroduction or encouraging beavers might assist restoration; Kurzweil noted observational evidence of beaver colonies in the region but said ecological and toxicology questions remain and encouraged public comment on Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s beaver management plan (open through Dec. 17). Trout Unlimited provided early funding to support monitoring, Kurzweil said, and UWP intends to seek additional funds for construction once design and permits are in place.

The presentation concluded with an invitation to bring UWP’s water‑monitoring team back for deeper technical questions and a recognition that projects of this type can be advanced in smaller, fundable chunks rather than a single large grant.