Background/Stakeholders/Community Outreach

The Willow Creek Reclamation Project grew out of the determination of a small group of local citizens in Creede, Colorado not to have their town placed on the national priority list for Superfund designation.  The listing was proposed due to the water quality problems that are the result of historic mining that began in the 1800s and continued well into the 1900s.  The narrow valley above the town is lined with abandoned mines, and still boasts some of the best examples of mining structures you will find in the western United States.  No one could have predicted that the profits that the mining companies realized more than a century ago would create water quality problems that we are still trying to resolve today.

Creede, a community of 434 people, is nestled in the San Juan Mountains, part of the Rocky Mountain chain, in south central Colorado.  The silver thread highway that leads you there is one of the most picturesque in the state, paralleling and crisscrossing the Rio Grande River for 21 miles.  Creede sits at 8,000+ feet, against a backdrop of towering rock formations that rise to 12,000 feet.  It is a truly breath-taking region that draws hunters, anglers, bicyclists, hikers, theater goers (Creede is home to a nationally recognized Repertory Theater) and garden variety tourists.  These and an assortment of residents – retired miners, artists, local business people, ranchers and vacation homesteaders joined forces to clean up the Creek and preserve the mining heritage and quaint character of the Town.  Many feared that Superfund designation would hurt the tourist economy of the town and compromise the ability of the community to determine its own fate.

This group, formally recognized as the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee (WCRC), has grown to include a wide variety of public and private interests.  Every month, the WCRC convenes at the Creede town hall.  These open meetings typically draw representatives from the Forest Service, the U.S. EPA, CO Dept. of Public Health and the Environment, CO Div. Minerals & Geology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Geological Survey, Natural Resource Conservation Service, in addition to the local volunteers - retired professionals, miners, the former mayor, a county commissioner, a city councilman, historic preservationists, etc.  It is an impressive suite of scientific experts and dedicated citizens, wholeheartedly committed to the cause to preserve and protect the Creek and River.

Innovation

From its inception, the Willow Creek Project has had a firm commitment to find innovative, non-regulatory approaches to improve the water quality in Willow Creek and to protect the gold medal fishery in the Rio Grande River downstream – a premier fly-fishing stream.  Local residents were ready and eager to apply best management practices (BMP’s) to reduce the metals in the stream so that water quality standards could be achieved, only to find out that the information and data on the sources and loadings of the metals were incomplete. Undaunted, they sought a grant to fill this data gap, and in 1999 successfully competed for a Section 319 non-point source grant, the first time many of them had ever entered the grant writing arena.  This first grant funded the characterization of the problem and covered sampling events to identify the pollutant loadings to the stream.  Biological assessments were undertaken to determine the health of the aquatic life in the Creek, and re-vegetation were initiated in the floodplain.  A cultural resource evaluation was conducted to ensure that the historic mining structures would not be damaged or destroyed in the course of the assessment work.  All of these are non-regulatory actions; many are innovative and serve as the basis for non-regulatory approaches to resolving the problems. 

The WCRC applied for and received subsequent grants to complete the characterization; expanded the scope of the project to include the development of GIS maps; and undertook dye tracer injections to define ground and surface water interactions.  The characterization work was completed in 2002 and will provide information to guide future remedial actions.  Underground investigations continue to determine the nature of pollution contributed by draining mine workings.  Recently the Committee received a grant to cap the tailings piles on five abandoned mine and mill sites.  This action will begin the groundwork of reducing the metals loading to Willow Creek.  Also this year the committee conducted a Community Clean-up day to address garbage and debris that could present flooding or water quality problems in Willow Creek immediately above Creede.  Re-vegetation efforts will continue with more tree planting in the riparian areas.  The characterization, clean-up, and planting events provide an excellent way for the Committee to advertise and involve the local community.  In the past, there has always been an abundance of support in terms of manpower and donated equipment.

Interdisciplinary Approach: 

Recovering a stream impacted by mine waste by its very nature calls for an interdisciplinary approach.  The success of the effort demands involvement of a host of disciplines, key among them mining, aquatic biology, agriculture and riparian restoration, hydrology and hydrogeology, chemistry, soil science, and public education and outreach.  All of these disciplines are actively involved in addressing the problems identified in Willow Creek, some of them in a voluntary capacity.  All of these experts, many of them accredited scientists, have an interest in the project and desire to support the local citizens.  They have helped to ensure that the characterization of the problem is complete, and that the next phase, on-the-ground remedies, will be accurate and defensible.  The Town of Creede also boasts a dedicated, well-educated group of retirees who contribute significantly to meeting the needs of the project.  

Achievements:

The goals of the Willow Creek Reclamation Project, as adopted by the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee, are:

1) Protect the Rio Grande from future fish kills associated with nonpoint source releases during unusual hydrologic events

2) Improve the visual and aesthetic aspects of the Willow Creek watershed and its historical mining district

3) Implement appropriate and cost-effective flood control and stabilization measures for nonpoint sources

4) Protect and preserve historic structures

5) 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

6) Continue to improve water quality and physical habitat quality in the Willow Creek watershed as part of a long-term watershed management program

The WCRC has assembled the information that is needed to meet these goals.  With the completion of characterization, they have identified the sources and amounts of metal loadings, and are evaluating what can be done to achieve water quality standards.  The re-vegetation field trials are showing considerable promise and the plans for restoration of the riparian area between Creede and the Rio Grande are underway.  Federal and state agencies have stepped forward to assist with the flood control measures, and an inventory of the historic structures has been completed for the mine and mill sites.  In all, 22 formal reports have been produced by the committee coordinator and contracted researchers.

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.