Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet announced late Thursday afternoon that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has approved $5 million in Emergency Watershed Protection funds to mitigate and recover from wildfires. The funding will benefit watershed projects in Mesa, Garfield, Larimer, and Grand counties, all hit recently by major wildfires.

This is separate from a request that Bennet, Gardner and U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton sent to the USDA for a cost-sharing agreement to deal with watershed issues tied to the Grizzly Creek fire in Glenwood Springs.

Bennet visited Glenwood Canyon Thursday to survey the Grizzly Creek Watershed. He was joined by state officials and local elected officials, including Rebecca Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. 

“We’re deeply grateful to NRCS for quickly and efficiently approving these funds to mitigate damage in Colorado communities affected by wildfires,” Bennet said in a statement Thursday. “I’ve seen a lot of wildfires and disasters in the last decade that I’ve served in the Senate, and Coloradans always pull together in times of crisis to overcome the devastation and build back even stronger than before. I know this time will be no different…I’m committed to continue collaborating with you all to secure additional federal resources for wildfire recovery.” 

Mitchell said in the same statement that CWCB staff are working with water scientists to monitor and study effects of the Grizzly Creek wildfire on watersheds and water supplies in Glenwood Canyon as well as impacts to flood risk. “As the wildfire’s ash and soot continue to flow downstream, we estimate that it will take up to seven years for affected watersheds to fully recover, and our team will be part of this recovery process for years to come.”

Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, said that the district “recognizes the severity of the damage to the Glenwood Springs watershed and the potential negative impacts this fire will likely have on the water supply for downstream cities from Rifle to Clifton, truly appreciates the opportunity to partner with the federal government’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which has been championed by Senator Bennet, and many other local and state partners to immediately start rehabilitating the watershed. A catastrophic event like this in the major watershed for the City of Glenwood Springs is an opportunity to bring the resources of the federal, state, regional and local governments together to assist in preventing the worst outcomes with respect to long term damage to an important watershed.”

Glenwood Springs City Manager Debra Figueroa thanked Bennet, Gardner and Tipton for their work. “Clean water is life and the functionality and resiliency of our infrastructure are critical for all rural communities in the West,” she said, pointing out that Bennet has been in contact with the city numerous times and visited the fire site twice. He “reached out to numerous federal departments to connect us with potential resources…We cannot undo the damage that was done during this fire but our path to recovery has begun thanks to the rapid response of Senator Bennett and his staff.” 

The Grizzly Creek fire, which started August 10, has now burned 32,464 and is 82% contained. It has not grown in size in the last few days.

The separate request to the NRCS said the city of Glenwood Springs has been forced to use a temporary emergency backup water diversion source. Once the fire has been contained, “immediate actions to reduce erosion, sedimentation and prevent flooding will be critical.” The Colorado Water Conservation Board has estimated that it will take the watershed seven years to recover.

A watershed is an area of land in which all water drains to a common point, such as a larger river or stream. Colorado has four major watersheds and dozens of smaller ones; the watershed on the Western Slope drains to the Colorado River. 

The request by the city of Glenwood Springs asks that the NRCS cover 90% of the cost of projects for emergency mitigation with the city picking up the last 10%.