Case Studies
Communities across Colorado are taking on the challenge of planning for resilience. The following stories highlight resiliency in action, spotlighting work done by State agencies, local governments, and communities across the state. They offer insight into challenges that Colorado communities face while celebrating successes and providing replicable best practices and lessons learned.
If you have additional case study requests or ideas, contact Marguerite Harden.
The Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition (BTRRC) was formed as a grass-roots organization soon after the flood to help property owners and other stakeholders with cleanup, debris removal, and to facilitate longer-term recovery of the river corridors.
The Town of Limon needed to mitigate floodplain problems created by the long-bankrupt Rock Island Railroad actions. In the end, the project created numerous benefits for the Town, its residents, and the natural environment.
The City of Boulder fostered partnerships with several local and regional organizations in the aftermath of the 2013 floods to support long-term community recovery efforts.
Learn more about how the City of Evans recovered from the 2013 floods and how they used several emergency ordinances to their advantage.
Learn about how the Town of Lyons utilized public engagement in its recovery after the 2013 floods. The Town established the vision of recovery as “recovering stronger, more sustainably, and more resilient than before.”
Thanks to early and bold visioning and partnership building by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and continued dedication to recovery principles by other partners (i.e., Department of Local Affairs and numerous local and private partners), the recovery of Colorado’s flood-impacted watersheds have created a new model for disaster recovery.
The City of Durango worked with the Colorado Resiliency Office in 2019 to build a resiliency framework that gave them a leg up when the pandemic and wildfires hit in 2020.
Manitou Springs experienced devastating floods in 2013 and learned to incorporate resilience into their planning efforts in the aftermath.
Learn about how resilient communities withstand disruptions.
This case study provides an overview of how flood, drought, and wildfire interact and impact each other in an event cascade.
The Town of Basalt worked in conjunction with the Basalt Chamber of Commerce to find quick solutions that would address the different public health restrictions, including reduced occupancy in restaurants and limited gatherings.
Gunnison County has found that communication has been the best tool for solving problems and managing local business owners’ confusion and anxiety over the pandemic’s impact on their livelihoods and employees.
The City of Montrose is rapidly responding to business needs through a relief package for small businesses.
The local Chamber of Commerce and the Arvada Economic Development Association (AEDA) stood up the Arvada Resiliency Taskforce in early March of 2020 to help the community cope with the crisis and its effects on local businesses.
In the wake of the 2012-2013 wildfires and floods, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs established the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Resilience Planning Program to complete the expenditure of federal disaster recovery funds.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has started to integrate the resiliency prioritization criteria defined in the Colorado Resiliency Framework into their project scoring process.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has established two groups to guide implementation of resiliency efforts within the department.
The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) is taking a two-generation, or 2Gen, approach to all services it offers to help families escape the cycle of poverty.
To identify and prioritize alternative floodplain mitigation and emergency preparedness solutions, Colorado Dam Safety developed the Colorado High-Hazard Dam Release - Downstream Floodplain Impacts Database and Ranking Tool.
Larimer County communities developed the Larimer Community Resiliency Framework, a regional resiliency framework to build local resilience to future shocks and stresses.
The I-70 Risk and Resilience Pilot was completed in Fall 2017 and has helped provide CDOT with risk and resilience information for assets along I-70 and to prioritize work at key locations where risk is high, and resiliency is currently low.
The Resilient Design Performance Standard allows Boulder County communities to define long-term time-to-recovery goals that are adaptable to specific hazards and each community’s needs.
The Resilient St. Vrain Project (RSVP) is a multi-year effort to improve the St. Vrain Creek’s channel and surrounding areas in preparation for any future flooding.
As part of the hazard mapping program, the CWCB launched and maintains the Colorado Hazard Mapping and Risk MAP Portal, allowing users to explore and stay informed about hazard mapping activities.
A warmer climate will increase the frequency of severe rainstorms capable of causing floods.
Drought is a regularly occurring hazard that impacts agricultural production.
Colorado's $62.5 billion per year outdoor recreation industry is vulnerable to drought.
Wildfire costs are large and the total cost is often unknown. Insured losses and fire suppression costs are only a fraction of the true cost of wildfires.
Collaboratives can help rural communities become more resilient by knowing who to call and who is able to help out during and after the disaster.
The Colorado State Forest Service Nursery (the Nursery) is located in Fort Collins on CSU’s Foothills Campus, and produces seedlings and shrubs that are native to Colorado for conservation and resiliency purposes.
Creating Resilient Forests: Colorado State Forest Service Nursery
The Colorado State Forest Service Nursery (the Nursery) is located in Fort Collins on CSU’s Foothills Campus, and produces seedlings and shrubs that are native to Colorado for conservation and resiliency purposes.