Protecting & Improving Life Along Willow Creek

The Willow Creek Reclamation Committee’s mission is to improve water quality and habitat, reduce flood risks, reclaim areas impacted by mining, and preserve historic structures in the Willow Creek watershed in ways that are practical, cost effective, and beneficial to the economic sustainability of the Creede community.

Core Goals of  the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee:

• Protect the Rio Grande from future fish kills associated with nonpoint source releases during unusual hydrologic events
• Improve the visual and aesthetic aspects of the Willow Creek watershed and its historical mining district
• Implement appropriate and cost-effective flood control and stabilization measures for nonpoint sources
• Protect and preserve historic structures
• Reclaim the Willow Creek floodplain below Creede to improve the physical, chemical, biological, and aesthetic qualities of the creek as an integral part of the local community
• Continue to improve water quality and physical habitat quality in the Willow Creek watershed as part of a long-term watershed management program

The Willow Creek Project is a testimony to the grit and determination of a group of citizens who wanted to retain the independence and self-determination to decide how to clean up a small mountain stream that flows through their town.  Their spirit and resolve have drawn a wealth of outside resources to their cause, and have allowed them to succeed beyond their wildest imagination.