WILLOW CREEK RECLAMATION COMMITTEE
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WCRC works to improve water quality and habitat, reduce flood risks, reclaim areas impacted by mining, and preserve historic structures in the Willow Creek watershed in ways that are practical, cost effective, and beneficial to the economic sustainability of the Creede community
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The Willow Creek Reclamation Project grew out of the determination of a small group of local citizens in Creede, Colorado not to have their town placed on the national priority list for Superfund designation. The listing was proposed due to the water quality problems that are the result of historic mining that began in the 1800s and continued well into the 1900s. The narrow valley above the town is lined with abandoned mines, and still boasts some of the best examples of mining structures you will find in the western United States. No one could have predicted that the profits that the mining companies realized more than a century ago would create water quality problems that we are still trying to resolve today.
Creede, a community of 434 people, is nestled in the San Juan Mountains, part of the Rocky Mountain chain, in south-central Colorado. The silver thread highway that leads you there is one of the most picturesque in the state, paralleling and crisscrossing the Rio Grande River for 21 miles. Creede sits at 8,000+ feet, against a backdrop of towering rock formations that rise to 12,000 feet. It is a truly breath-taking region that draws hunters, anglers, bicyclists, hikers, theatergoers (Creede is home to a nationally recognized Repertory Theater) and garden variety tourists. These and an assortment of residents – retired miners, artists, local business people, ranchers and vacation homesteaders joined forces to clean up the Creek and preserve the mining heritage and quaint character of the Town. Many feared that Superfund designation would hurt the tourist economy of the town and compromise the ability of the community to determine its own fate.
This group, formally recognized as the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee (WCRC), has grown to include a wide variety of public and private interests. Every month, the WCRC convenes at the Creede town hall. These open meetings typically draw representatives from the Forest Service, the U.S. EPA, CO Dept. of Public Health and the Environment, CO Div. Minerals & Geology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Geological Survey, Natural Resource Conservation Service, in addition to the local volunteers – retired professionals, miners, the former mayor, a county commissioner, a city councilman, historic preservationists, etc. It is an impressive suite of scientific experts and dedicated citizens, wholeheartedly committed to the cause to preserve and protect the Creek and River.