Wetland and Riparian Area Management

To meet the complex needs of wetlands and riparian areas, Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting provides wetland management services to meet your needs. We employ multidisciplinary teams for:

Wetland delineations
404 Permitting
Riparian Proper Functioning Condition Assessments
Rosgen Channel Evaluations
Fisheries habitat evaluations
Stream flow duration assessments

Working hand-in-hand with you, we have experience with all varieties of wetlands throughout the Rocky Mountain west. These include high elevation fens. Fens are peat-forming wetlands that rely on groundwater input and require thousands of years to develop and cannot easily be restored once destroyed.

We also work on large rivers on the eastern plains, grazed riparian systems in the intermountain west and gullies that can flash flood. Providing erosion and sedimentation control services, ecological restoration, and a vast assortment of other services ensures we meet the need of your project.

Blue Mountain can assist you in any of the following areas:

FACWET Analysis (Functional Assessment of Colorado Wetlands)

Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting conducts wetland assessments using the FACWet methodology. FACWet (Functional Assessment of Colorado Wetlands) was developed in a collaborative effort involving Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State University, EcoMetrics, LLC, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Army Corps of Engineers requires the use of FACWet when applying for an Individual Permit – more specifically for projects that have at least a 0.50 acre impact.

It is primarily designed to address the regulatory community’s need for functional assessment in administration of the Clean Water Act in Colorado. It includes pre-project assessment, mitigation planning, and post-project evaluation.

FACWet is a weight-of-evidence approach based on an information framework with an embedded rapid wetland assessment methodology. It uncovers agents impairing the ability of a wetland to function in a manner characteristic of its type. In routine applications, FACWet utilizes the best evidence available within a rapid assessment timeframe to develop and support variable ratings.

Stream Visual Assessments

Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting conducts rapid quantitative assessments of wetland areas using the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP) Version 2 is a national protocol that provides an initial evaluation of the overall condition of low level streams, their riparian zones and their instream habitats.

A healthy stream will look and function differently depending on its location or ecological setting. Impacted streams are assessed in relation to historic or potential conditions. Sites that are not impaired and represent the range of conditions that potentially exist for a particular stream are used for reference. Elements that affect a streams classification include channel condition, hydrologic alteration, bank condition, riparian areas, canopy (tree) cover, water appearance, pools, fish habitat, and more.

Wetlands Delineation and 404 Permitting

Proper Functioning Condition Assessments

Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting conducts riparian Proper Functioning Condition Assessments per Bureau of Land Management Technical Report 1737 (BLM TR 1737) methods in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, typically for government agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management or the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The Proper Functioning Condition (PFC) Assessment is a qualitative methodology that can be used to evaluate the functional condition of wetlands with both standing and running water. Implemented by an interdisciplinary team, this methodology is an economical means of evaluating riparian condition and trend as well as the stressors to a riparian area.

The PFC assessment is effective for establishing baseline conditions, evaluating successional processes and prioritizing restoration treatments. Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting has conducted PFC assessments on several hundred miles of waterways throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

Fisheries Habitat Assessments

Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting provides Fisheries Habitat Assessments for waters throughout the Rocky Mountain West. These services include a detailed assessment of riparian conditions and an evaluation of critical habitat components. Canopy cover, the availability of woody debris, bank stability all affect the shading of the water surface and channel characteristics. Procedures are developed from the BLM Level III Aquatic Habitat Inventory and Monitoring Handbook 6720-1.

Wetland Riparian Restoration

Rosgen Channel Evaluations

Past Projects in Wetland Management

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Bryce Valley Watershed Assessment

Blue Mountain was contracted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service to conduct a watershed assessment. The intent of the effort was to gather resource information about the physical structure and biological function of five rivers, to prioritize treatment areas and to develop management recommendations.

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Nevada Stream Survey

Blue Mountain Environmental was contracted by the Bureau of Land Management, Elko District, to monitor riparian conditions within various grazing allotments.

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Centennial Valley State Wildlife Area Wetland Delineation

Blue Mountain Environmental was contracted by Ducks Unlimited to delineate 35 acres of atypical riverine wetlands along the South Platte River.

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Southwest Prospect and I-25 Interchange

The City of Fort Collins contracted Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting (BMEC) to proivde an Ecological Characterization Study, delineate a variety of complex wetlands and request a Jurisdictional Determination.