The purpose of the Stream Stewardship and Recovery Handbook is to create an educational resource for private landowners to better understand their streamside properties in the context of the larger watershed, what they can do to practice good stream stewardship and when/how they should engage outside help for stewardship or recovery projects.
— Mission Statement, developed by the Handbook Steering Committee
Ch 1: Living Along a Stream
General information about streams, watersheds, water resources, floodplains and ecosystems. Learn basics of how they interact and connect with each other, followed by how you and your property fit into the larger context of the watershed. How to prepare for a flood and how to assess the damage following a flood.
Ch 2: Evaluating Your Property
More technical information than Chapter 1 about how streams function and how this relates to your property. Use the Landowner Assessment Questionnaires and the Stream Classification Guide to evaluate a number of factors on your property and record the results to develop a stewardship and recovery plan.
Ch 3: Stewardship & Recovery Strategies
Based on your property assessment results in Chapter 2, identify which strategies will meet the objectives you identified on the Landowner Assessment Worksheets. Explore specific strategies for stewardship and recovery on your property. Learn about the types of permits that may be required for the project as well.
Ch 4: Engaging Outside Help
Learn about when and why you may need outside help, what type of help is available and how to engage with them. Learn about a wide range of government, non-profit, university and professional resources that can assist you with project needs.
Ch 5: Mastering Your Watershed
Technical information for those interested in learning even more about how streams function and how stream restoration professionals study these functions. Links to resources and technical documents.
Resources
Information to accompany the handbook, such as terminology, sources, contributors, and acknowledgements. Additionally, a handbook overview and YouTube videos will be found in this section.
From the authors: We hope that you find this handbook to be an interesting read and a useful resource. We are a group of landscape architects, engineers, environmental scientists, river constructors and graphic designers who care deeply about Colorado’s streams and rivers. We are passing on our knowledge in the hopes that you too, will use these tools to be a good steward of your community’s streams and rivers.
