The North Fork of the Gunnison River Watershed consists of 986 square miles in the State of Colorado bounded on the north by Grand Mesa, McClure Pass and the Ragged Mountains and on the east and west by the Grand Mesa National Forest and the White River National Forest. The river flows 33 miles, through the Cities of Paonia and Hotchkiss, before flowing into the Gunnison River just north of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

The watershed is characterized by a valley of multiple river terraces used for agricultural purposes. Channelization of the river has destabilized stream flows and the river bottom. The river is further impacted by grazing, logging, pesticide application, feed lot and highway runoff, coal and instream gravel mining, irrigation diversions and reservoir operations. As a result, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment identified the North Fork watershed as a priority watershed in its 1998 Unified Watershed Assessment and a watershed restoration action strategy is being developed.

Community-Led Restoration

For years, restoration activities in the watershed were not coordinated and were usually carried out by individual landowners. These single- handed efforts were rarely successful, and often caused problems for nearby landowners. However, in 1996, landowners, water users, government agencies and concerned citizens formed the North Fork River Improvement Association (NFRIA). This association has sought to meet usage demands on the river while improving stream stability, riparian habitat and ecosystem function. NFRIA supports long-term, cost-effective projects that improve water quality, channel stability and riparian habitat, divert irrigation water, increase in-stream flows and reduce ditch maintenance. For example, in 1999, 20 acres of wetlands were created, 2,500 feet of streambank were stabilized and work on 100 acres of conservation easements was completed. The University of Colorado-Denver has recognized NFRIA for its consensus building and collaborative decisionmaking efforts related to local sustainable development policies.

Moving Forward

The North Fork’s watershedwide coordination has increased stakeholder involvement in restoration activities and has greatly increased the number of efforts underway in the region. The North Fork Irrigation Diversion Demonstration Program, a project on 1.5 miles of the North Fork channel floodplain, highlights the innovation of these activities. Constructed in the winter of 2000, the demonstration proj ect restored meanders to the reach and employed a wide range of bioengineering treatments to stabilize banks and enhance wetlands. An irrigation diversion was also reconstructed to eliminate the need for annual "push-up" gravel diversion dams. High school students assist in project revegetation work and document project progress on video.

NFRIA studies in the watershed will collect the data necessary for continued restoration. One study is being led by the Colorado State University and is researching the impact of the Paonia Reservoir on restoration efforts downstream. The study is also examining the rate at which silt is settling in and filling up the reservoir.

State and Federal Partners NFRIA projects receive financial assistance from numerous sources including the federal government and the State of Colorado. Partners in state government include the Delta Soil Conservation District, Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, State Water Conservation Board and Colorado State University. Federal partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Farm Services Agency, EPA, DOI National Park Service, DOI Geological Survey, DOI Bureau of Reclamation, DOI Fish and Wildlife Service and US Army Corps of Engineers.

Table of Contents

http://water.usgs.gov/owq/cleanwater/success/gunnison.html
Created October 13, 2000