John Scarffe, Nederland. A wetland mitigation project at Fisherman’s Lot could begin this summer after authorization by the Nederland Board of Trustees during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center. The board also appointed members to the Nederland Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB).

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) introduced a project to fix the wetlands at the end of Barker Meadows Park near the reservoir. A great opportunity came up and so they are moving forward with that process and waiting to hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Nederland Downtown Development Authority Board Member Rea Orthner told the board she has received only positive support and it seems like a win/win for the town. SAB is requesting that the Town of Nederland partner with Ignite Adaptive Sports (Ignite) and Eldora Mountain Resort (EMR) on a wetland mitigation project at Fisherman’s Lot.

SAB is working to ecologically enhance that portion of the Barker Meadows Park which encompasses Fisherman’s Lot. Ignite and EMR would like to partner with Nederland to create a high-quality wetland and riparian habitat at Fisherman’s Parking Lot, according to background.

On January 27, 2019, a local wetland ecologist with Peak Ecological Services, LLC, presented the idea to SAB during a regularly scheduled meeting. All SAB members in attendance were in favor of the proposed partnership and the project.

“The partnership was born because Ignite will be required to mitigate wetland impacts associated with their new building at EMR. As there are limited options for constructing wetlands at EMR, the idea of the partnership was born,” according to background.

Ignite Adaptive Sports is in the process of designing a permanent building to house the program. Ignite is a nonprofit, nationally recognized organization with 43 years of experience providing adaptive snow sport lessons, including skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing, to children and adults with disabilities.

“Ignite’s mission is to provide integrated recreational opportunities for people with disabilities that will foster independence through the acquisition of lifetime skills.” The buildings that Ignite operates are dilapidated trailers, so a new building is being planned.

“That new building, which will be built into the hill adjacent to the existing trailers, will necessarily impact some low-quality previously disturbed wetlands. These wetlands occur on land owned by EMR,” according to background.

“Per the Clean Water Act, Ignite needs to mitigate the wetland impact by creating new wetlands,” states background. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will have final approval for this wetland creation plan.

If approved, the USACE will likely require a performance bond, permanent site-protection instrument and monitoring for five years until the performance standards are met. The wetlands will be created by lowering the topography of an upland area adjacent to the zones of seasonally saturated soil, and then planting and seeding the site with native wetland plants present, according to background.

SAB has been working diligently on plans to ecologically enhance the Fisherman’s Parking Lot site, and this wetland and riparian habitat creation would integrate fully into other plans for ecological enhancement. These other plans include pollinator gardens, additional plantings of trees and interpretive signage and paths. The action item presented only addresses the wetland creation aspect of the entire plan.

This project was brought before the board as an informational item at the regular February 5, 2019 BOT meeting. The project received a nod of four to proceed with the next steps to developing this partnership.

Eldora Mountain Resort General Manager Brent Tregaskis told the board that the partnership with Ignite is very good. They came to Eldora with a proposal which pointed out that they can create wetlands at a watershed, which will help address issues other than at the resort.

“It should be a fabulous improvement and room to run their program,” Tregaskis said. “We win and the public wins with this kind of arrangement. We’re pretty excited about getting going and are moving full speed ahead. It’s the best option for all of us.”

Orthner said they have a lot of details to work out and want to get the go-ahead from the Corps of Engineers. They have about 30 days to respond.

Trustee Jonathon Baumhover said that the NDDA commissioned a riparian study, and it’s in the master plan. It seems like a no brainer when an opportunity comes knocking. He does have concerns about reducing parking for fishermen and it being an area that will be a little out of place, but the board has a good basis to move forward, and it will fit in well with other projects in that area.

Orthner said that all the plants are native and will require monitoring for five years and a letter of credit for a performance bond. Eldora will likely hire a consultant. “I know that the parking lot is used for festivals. I did try to reach out and didn’t hear anything,” she said.

Trustee Kristen Conrad said she is for it being there, and it’s also an educational opportunity. The Board approved moving ahead with the project.

The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in the multi-purpose room at the Nederland Community Center.

(Originally printed in the March 14, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)