High Line Canal Natural Resources Management Plan

A comprehensive plan sets the stage for protecting and enhancing ecological value along a former irrigation canal that is now a 71-mile linear park.

Biohabitats is completing a year-long collaborative conservation effort to develop a Natural Resources Management Plan for 860 acres and 71 miles of the High Line Canal (Canal) corridor. The effort brings together 15 Canal Collaborative partners—including Denver Water, Mile High Flood District, and adjacent jurisdictions—to find common goals and stewardship practices.

The Plan protects ecological values of the Canal corridor by prioritizing strategies for habitat enhancements, integrating nature-based solutions for stormwater management, and coordinated maintenance. Best practices requested by the jurisdictions were guided by priorities around resilience, safety, and biodiversity support for canopy, understory/non-canopy, and channel resources. Because of the geographic and ecological diversity across the planning area, the recommendations are subdivided into five similar subareas to facilitate coordination.

The Plan also built upon Biohabitats’ prior experience assisting the High Line Canal Conservancy (HLCC) and its partners develop an approach for transforming the Canal from its historical irrigation conveyance use to an urban green infrastructure model of smart stormwater planning. In 2018 and 2019, Biohabitats helped the organization win and implement two grants from the Pisces Foundation to demonstrate the stacked benefits of stormwater green infrastructure. The analysis was based on goals and key benefits selected by working closely with a Technical Leadership Team of stakeholder representatives. Canal-wide mapping and analysis was then used to measure and calculate integrated benefits of stormwater with habitat and health values. Ground-truthing and concept development in three pilot locations were conducted to test stormwater scenarios. The scenarios illustrated the ecological and social benefits the Canal can bring to region’s communities, rivers, and streams. The study also showed the costs of not transforming the Canal and how preserving the value of the corridor depends on enhancing its use for stormwater projects.