CREEDE— During a special meeting held by the City of Creede on Oct. 16, town board members were presented with a letter from Headwaters Alliance Co-Director Guinevere Nelson-Freer inviting them to partner on a future project. Nelson-Freer explained that the project would be to continue work on the floodplain located south of town and would entail applying for funding through a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Grant.
“We are inviting you to partner with Headwaters Alliance in seeking funding from Great Outdoors Colorado’s Local Park and Outdoor Recreation (LPOR) grant program. We are interested in pursuing up to $350,000 to establish the necessary long-term infrastructure as part of the reclamation of the lower Willow Creek floodplain as a community recreational space,” wrote Nelson-Freer.
Over the past several years, beginning with the Lower Willow Creek Reclamation Company and now the Headwaters Alliance, the floodplain has undergone some major changes. The two organizations combined in the last two years to form one 501(c)(3) with the same goal— to preserve and protect water shed in the Rio Grande Basin as well as restore and rejuvenate the floodplain area located below Creede.
In the past year, the Headwaters Alliance has worked with both the city and county to move a large amount of dirt from the new school site to the floodplain as a remediation project. The dirt was used as a cap to cover areas in the floodplain that had high levels of dangerous material and to help prevent seepage from the harsh mining chemicals that were deposited there during a flood that washed most of the materials down from the Creede Mining District.
During this process, new plants and vegetation began to grow in the area, something that had not occurred in some time. The Lower Willow Creek Reclamation Company spent considerable amounts of time planting willows along the creek bed which were donated by the Rio Grande National Forest Service. The willows have taken hold and have begun to grow and fill in along Willow Creek.
In addition to the work done to revegetate the area, plans included adding art along the multi-use trail that weaves through the 1.5-mile stretch. Some small pieces have been collected and placed in the floodplain with hopes to add more in the future.
Nelson-Freer continued, explaining the scope of the project and how the funding would be used if it is awarded, stating that the Headwaters Alliance would create an overall park design which would include a parking area and restroom facility, an open-air outdoor classroom and picnic pavilion, interpretive signage explaining the history of the area and the work completed, user-friendly gates at both ends of the trail, fencing along the trail to ensure ATVs and people stay off of the dirt cap and the planting of larger diameter trees.
Nelson-Freer stated that chances of receiving the grant are quite good and hoped to have an answer possibly by the beginning of the year. The board voted unanimously to finalize a memorandum of understanding between the City of Creede and the Headwaters Alliance in time for the grant deadline which is Nov. 1.