Colorado Water Conservation Board initiatives such as Wildfire Ready Watersheds and the Colorado Water Plan have significantly increased the accessibility and availability of Fluvial Hazard Zone (FHZ) maps throughout Colorado. These maps, which delineate areas prone to fluvial geomorphic hazards, are now essential tools for local floodplain managers, consulting firms, and other stakeholders involved in river corridor planning, restoration, and development projects across the state. While the benefits of utilizing FHZ maps are numerous, specific methods for translating them into plans and actions and procedural steps for effectively integrating them into local planning and development policy are continuously developing and evolving. This proposed workshop will fill the gap between completed FHZ maps and practical applications with guidance, case studies, and guided discussion. 

The Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Fluvial Hazard Zone Program proposes a two- to three-hour workshop [we can be flexible on time] to work with CASFM attendees on how to develop innovative and creative solutions for stream corridor management informed by FHZ mapping. 

Participants will work with instructors and one another to learn to use FHZ maps, and the information synthesized in the mapping process, to inform the development of flood hazard mitigation and stream restoration projects. Additionally, the workshop will provide a venue to discuss the specifics of how FHZs have been integrated into land use codes, planning, and development review throughout Colorado.

We hope this workshop can foster a space for collaboration, discussion, and knowledge-sharing between mappers, agencies, and managers to improve decision-making and advance floodplain management in Colorado.

Register for CASFM here: https://www.casfm.org/annual-conference/