Geographic Scope
The Upper South Platte Partnership (USPP) focuses on a 2,600 square‐mile area (1.18 million acres) that drains into the upper South Platte River and its North Fork. This is known as a watershed. This area touches the Continental Divide and extends eastward to southwest Denver. It runs west of I-25 and to the mountains east of South Park. It includes an area south of I‐70 and the mountain towns of Conifer, Evergreen, Bailey, Deckers, Woodland Park and other communities.
There are eight counties overlapping the defined watershed area. Especially vital are portions of Jefferson, Douglas, and Park County, as well as Clear Creek and Teller Counties that have significant wildland urban interface (WUI) communities within the focal landscape.
For landscape boundary delineations, the USPP uses the Hydrologic Unit Code 8 (HUC 8) watershed boundaries of the Upper South Platte River, as defined by US Geological Survey. Within this watershed, the partnership identifies collaborative projects and opportunities focused on priority areas as determined based on stakeholder interests, science, capacity building opportunities, and funding requirements. Projects that occur outside of priority areas and within or adjacent to the HUC 8 watershed boundaries are considered a benefit to the landscape and to the fireshed.
The USPP landscape is of vital importance for collaborative planning due to high value priorities combined with elevated wildfire risks. These include dense WUI populations, drinking water sources, ecological values, and important recreation areas. Ecological values include forest health, species diversity and important potential wildlife habitat and migration zones. Recreation values include high-use parks and open spaces, trails, fishing, camping, plus other important activities and areas.