Planning Department

Wetlands Program

Background
History
Wetlands Grant Project
History of Wetland Protection
Protecting Wetlands Into The Future
Frequently Asked Questions & Background Information

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING — Wetland Background

Beaver ponds, small glacial ponds, wet meadows and fens can be found in many parts of the Rocky Mountain valleys.In general, many mountain lakes have wetlands along their shorelines, and streams in mountain valleys have wetlands as bands adjacent to their banks. These montane wetlands are critical for wildlife and can provide important water supply, water quality, and flood control benefits.

Summit County has a wide range and variety of wetlands within its boundaries. Shrubbed, forested, and herbaceous wetlands accommodating different wildlife species can be found within the county boundaries at elevations as high as 11,700 feet. Among the most wellknown and important Summit County wetlands are Jones Gulch Wetland, Officers Gulch Wetland, Four-Mile Bridge, and Cucumber Gulch.

History

Prior to 1997, a number of planning and development issues arose that made the County realize it needed to assume a leadership role in mitigating the impacts of rapid growth by identifying and protecting sensitive lands and water quality.

In 1998, the federal agencies administering wetland protection (EPA and USACE) raised concerns regarding the cumulative loss of wetlands in the County. Discussions were initiated with the County to identify a method to improve wetland protection through cooperation between federal and local entities. These discussions lead to a 16-month effort to create a Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) or other procedures to protect wetland resources. As a part of these efforts, the County adopted Resolution No. 99-46 in April 1999, which provided for the “Conceptual Strategy For The Enhanced Management Of Wetlands Within Summit County.”

Encouraged by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and EPA, Summit County applied for grant monies to further enhance the management and protection of wetlands. The Wetlands Grant supported this comprehensive strategy to protect wetland resources in the County. When implemented it was hoped the project would also serve as a model for other communities throughout the state and nation.

Wetlands Grant Project: Pilot Project to Enhance the Management of Wetlands in Summit County – Phases I & II

Phases I and II of the Wetlands Grant was partially funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), titled Wetland Protection Program, pursuant to section 104 (b)(3) of the Clean Water Act. The Grant had a Period of Performance from June 1, 2000 through March 31, 2003.

The primary goal of the Wetlands Grant was to develop and implement a new wetland protection strategy for the County with the assistance of local stakeholders, the Department of Natural Resources Wetlands Protection Program, and Federal agencies. To accomplish this goal the County contracted with the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) team in February 2002 to aid with the implementation of Phase II of the Wetlands Grant Project (9Wet).

In early 2002, the Summit County Wetlands Task Force developed a comprehensive list of wetland management recommendations aimed at reducing wetland impacts caused by the rapid economic growth and development occurring in the County. The SAIC team further refined these recommendations and developed scientific documentation required by the Board of County Commissioners to justify the proposed management actions.

During the summer of 2002, the results of the SAIC team’s findings, and the Task Force recommendations were presented to the planning commissions of each of the four planning basins, as well as the countywide planning commission. Based on feedback from the planning commissions the recommendations were revised slightly to reflect their concerns and to clarify specific issues identified by the commissioners. In addition, a two-phased implementation strategy was developed for the various wetland management recommendations.

The initial phase is comprised of both non-regulatory types of wetland stewardship such as revising the Land Use and Development Code to permit height and setback variances to avoid wetland impacts, as well as a regulatory component that takes jurisdiction over“isolated wetlands”. In addition, the first phase of the wetland management strategy places specific emphasis on encouraging the development of a wetland mitigation bank by a private enterprise in the County.

The second phase incorporates several other components into the overall wetland management strategy. Specifically it establishes wetland setbacks for single family and duplex development (requires a 25-foot setback for all development in the County not just sites platted after 1996), basin specific recommendations, and new regulations for identified high quality wetlands.

History of Wetland Protection
In the last ten years, the County has made excellent progress in addressing wetland issues, and initiating wetland and wildlife related projects. In 1995, as part of the implementation of the Countywide Comprehensive Plan and related sub-basin master plans, the County adopted interim wetland regulations. During the following years, the County completed a detailed wetland mapping project utilizing aerial interpretation of vegetation communities, and has also worked in conjunction with area towns and agencies in studies to identify priority protection sites based on biological significance.

In 1999, Summit County Government undertook a study to evaluate the functions of wetlands using a scientifically objective, repeatable functional assessment methodology with the cooperation and support of the US Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, US Forest Service, Colorado DNR, and local entities. This refined bioassessment method was aimed at assisting efforts to evaluate current wetland health and the performance of protection and restoration activities.

The Summit County Wetland Assessment Method has been successfully applied by Summit County (40 wetland assessments), USFS (approximately 100 wetland assessments), and the towns of Breckenridge and Silverthorne. The results of these studies and assessments provide management agencies with more informed planning and decision-making ability.

Wetland related projects and accomplishments in the County include:

Adoption of interim wetland regulations in 1995;
In 1996, the County completed a detailed wetland mapping project utilizing aerial interpretation of vegetation communities, with the database to be used for master planning, wetland evaluation, public information, and development reviews on private lands in the County;
In 1997, the County in conjunction with the area towns, the Colorado DNR, and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) completed an assessment of wetlands and riparian areas. This study identified priority protection sites based on biological significance;
Cooperation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to develop a Wildlife Habitat Overlay District to prevent significant adverse impact to wildlife habitat;
Classification of wetlands in the Lower Blue River Valley based on the Hydrogeomorphic Model (HGM) utilizing aerial photography, and a study entitled“A Wetland Analysis in the Lower Blue River Valley, Summit County Colorado”;
During 1999, the County undertook a study to evaluate the functions of wetlands using a scientifically objective, repeatable functional assessment methodology with the cooperation and support of the USACE, EPA, United States Forest Service, Colorado DNR, and local entities. This method follows HGM wetland classification terminology, utilizing rapid assessment procedures to document field indicators of wetland functions;
The Town of Silverthorne utilized the County’s wetland assessment methodology during the spring of 2000 for the “Wetland Analysis: Lower Blue River Valley, Summit County, Town of Silverthorne Area Summary Report”;
The community recently provided the County’s Open Space Program with an additional mil levy, with one of the program’s primary criteria being the protection of unique lands. This criterion specifically seeks to protect riparian areas, wetlands, and other critical wildlife habitat through a combination of acquisition, conservation easements, and other protection measures;
The County received signed resolutions from local jurisdictions publicly endorsing their support for Resolution No. 99-46;
March 2003 completion of the DNR/EPA Wetlands Grant—Wetlands Grant Project: Pilot Project to Enhance the Management of Wetlands in Summit County– Phases I and II;
Adoption of Wetlands Goals, Policies/Actions and implementation strategies as part of the updated to the Countywide Comprehensive Plan adopted in November 2003; and,
The County has continued efforts to incorporate wetland protection strategies into basin master plans, cooperating in the organization of wetland restoration projects, gathering resources on wetland ecology, and regulations and protection strategies.

Collaboration has been critical to the success of these projects and studies. The partnerships formed will be valuable in further wetland protection efforts.

Protecting Wetlands Into The Future

Based on direction from the Board of County Commissioners in October 2002, a phased strategy was supported by which the County may move toward furthering the wetland protection goals presented in Resolution Number 99-46 – “Conceptual Strategy For the Enhanced Management of Wetland Within Summit County.” These recommendations have grown out of three years of effort to refine the County’s wetland science and protection strategy.

The implementation efforts outlined below constitute a meaningful step forward in the protection of the County’s wetlands. More specifically, these strategies provide an approach to wetlands management that is expected to benefit basin landowners, residents, government agencies, and enhance the overall health of our water and environmental resources in the County.

Phase I Wetland Efforts:
Phase I provisions are intended to provide better management of wetlands while imposing limited costs for both County administration and private property owners. In some cases, the impacts to the private property owner may lessen under these Phase I recommendations. Phase I provisions include the following components:

Creation of Incentive Based Regulations - A number of incentives are proposed to be incorporated or codified into existing regulations: relax side, front, and rear property boundary setbacks; allow height variances; encourage communal septic systems and driveway entrances; relax grading standards and soil disturbance regulations.
Amend the definition of Wetlands in the County’s Development Code - Change existing definition of wetlands to allow County jurisdiction over ‘isolated wetlands.’
Facilitation of Private Development of Wetland Mitigation Banks –Cooperate with private or public entities to facilitate the development and management of mitigation banks (preferably for protection of high quality slope and riverine wetland types). These would be developed and managed by other public or private entities.

Phase II Wetland Efforts:
Phase II provisions are intended to implement recommendations that address setbacks, basin specific recommendations, and high quality wetlands. Phase II provisions include the following components:

Establish Wetland Setbacks for Single Family and Duplex Development - Require 25-foot wetland setbacks from wetlands for new single family and duplex development on existing lots with variance provisions. This would apply to all wetlands in the County. Where avoidance is not possible, require that the maximum impact cannot exceed 0.05 acres (2,179 ft2 for driveway access, and 0.025 acres (1,089 ft2) for construction of a structure, or any additional infrastructure (total maximum impact = 0.075 ac).
Basin Specific Recommendations –i.e., Upper Blue Basin: create a special management zone for the area located between the confluence of Indiana Gulch and the Blue River, south to the County line to protect high quality wetlands and important headwater wetlands.
New Regulations for Identified High Quality Wetlands - Require greater wetland setbacks/buffers (range from 50 to 300 feet) for wetlands that have been identified as‘high quality’ in Phase II of the Grant. Factors that would influence the width of this buffer include: known populations of Federal or State threatened or endangered species, occurrence of fens, type of impact, slope gradient, soil hydrologic unit, and percent vegetative cover. It is expected that most parcels would have little difficulty complying with this requirement. The implementation of the aforementioned Phase I and II wetland efforts hinges on a combination of directive from Board of County Commissioners, Planning Department workloads, and staffing levels.