CSU receives EPA funding for wetland research

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University has received more than $550,000 to fund three research projects through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The funds will support projects through the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, a research unit in the Warner College of Natural Resources.

The first project will focus on developing a Colorado Wetland Field Guide, including botanical descriptions of more than 500 wetland plants, information on priority wildlife and wetland-dependent species and rare plants. The field guide will be used as a resource to determine a plant’s wetland identity, conservation rarity and ecology.

A Colorado Wetland website will be developed in addition to the guide, providing easy online access to a database of wetland ecosystem and conservation status information.

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A second project will be completed in partnership with the CSU Department of Biology, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create a protocol for improving compensatory wetland mitigation using a wetland profiling approach. The research team will study a portion of the rapidly developing northern Interstate 25 corridor in Colorado to quantify changes in the abundance and types of wetlands during the past 30 years and the condition of existing wetlands. The project will develop a framework for developing wetland profiles throughout Colorado to link regulatory decisions with scientific information on wetland health.

The final funded project will expand on ongoing assessment and documentation of imperial plants, animals and unique plant communities. CSU research teams will partner with Teller County and the Coalition for the Upper South Platte to perform a prioritized survey and conditional assessment of the county’ wetlands.

The funding is from the EPA Region 8 Wetland Program Development Grant Program.