Foothill Shrublands

Jefferson County's drought status has shifted with unusual speed this summer. The U.S. Drought Monitor showed zero extreme drought coverage the week of June 30, then 41 percent by mid-July, then 100 percent of the county classified as extreme drought by July 28, a status that has now held for three straight weeks through mid-August. A year ago at this same point in the season, extreme drought coverage was at zero and even moderate drought touched only about a third of the county. That is a steep swing to land in the space of twelve months, and it has arrived in the Foothill Shrublands at exactly the point in the season when plants face peak water demand and wildlife is finishing out breeding season.So far, the downstream signs of stress that would typically follow haven't shown up. Of 20 water bodies assessed within 10 miles in the surrounding watershed, including Bear Creek, Clear Creek, and Turkey Creek, 17 are listed as fully supporting their designated uses, with no impairments on record within 10 miles. That's worth noting precisely because it could change: extreme drought tends to act on a lag, showing up later in the season as falling stream baseflows, warming water, and vegetation stress that doesn't register until conditions have already been severe for weeks.The Jeffco Open Space Foundation is well positioned to track how these protected shrubland parcels hold up through the rest of the year as the drought persists, watching for the delayed effects that a status this extreme, sustained this long, would be expected to eventually produce.