Watershed Planning
The Upper Crow Creek Watershed Steering Committee
recently finalized the Amendment to the Crow Creek Watershed Plan. The
document has been approved by the Boards of Supervisors for the Laramie County
Conservation District and the Laramie Rivers Conservation District and has also been
approved by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Hard copies
of the Amendment may be requested from the Laramie County Conservation District.
Amendment to the Crow Creek Watershed Plan (19.96
MB)
Water
Quality
In 2004, the North Branch North Fork Crow Creek and Middle Crow Creek
were identified by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality as being
impaired for fecal coliform bacteria. These streams are part of the Crow
Creek Watershed in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest.
The Laramie County Conservation District and Laramie Rivers Conservation
District are working cooperatively with the U.S. Forest Service to gather water
quality data in these streams and assess Best Management Practices that are
suitable for this portion of the watershed.
Recommended BMPs
Grant funding has been awarded to the Laramie County Conservation
District for several Best Management Practices in this area. Several
existing springs used for livestock water are planned for rehabilitation in the
next year. These springs are located in the pastures near N. Branch N.
Fork Crow Creek. Other BMPs include installation and expansion of existing
riparian buffers along streams and reservoirs of the upper watershed.
Riparian buffers are useful for slowing down storm water runoff and allowing the
runoff water to infiltrate the soil, reducing the transport of pollutants from
contributing land area to nearby streams.
Public
Awareness
Since these two streams were listed for impairments after the
completion of the Crow Creek
Watershed Plan, the plan was amended to address these new water
quality issues. The Laramie County and Laramie Rivers Conservation
Districts formed a steering committee of local stakeholders to develop the
amendment to more directly addresses the upper portion of the watershed and
recommend management practices for improving water quality conditions.
The steering committee includes private landowners, recreation/public interests,
the Pole Mountain Grazing Association, the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities
and a representative from the original Crow Creek Watershed Steering Committee.
Pole Mountain Litigation
In 2004, a lawsuit was filed challenging the United States Forest
Service's approval of livestock grazing in the Pole Mountain Area of the
Medicine Bow National Forest. This petition for review was denied by the
US District Court for the District of Colorado on January 9, 2006. The
groups appealed to the 10th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals and a
Final Decision was released on December
17, 2007 upholding the lower court's ruling.