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Town of Vail officials received the latest Gore Creek scores on Tuesday, showing some improvements in stream health.

Gore Creek has been receiving an annual multi-metric index score since 2009, when the town and the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District started sampling for macroinvertebrates — insects that live in the creek — as part of broader water-quality monitoring efforts.

The creek has been listed on the state’s 303(d) impaired waterway list since 2012, with a decline in those macroinvertebrates to blame.

The latest scores were presented to the Town ߣÏÈÉú and staff on Tuesday by Pete Wadden, the town’s watershed health specialist. Wadden said the Red Sandstone Creek area has shown the strongest results in recent years, attributing the increase in macroinvertebrates there to a conversation he had with property managers at the Sandstone Creek Club in 2018 after he noticed that bug numbers were higher above that property than below.

“Apparently they took that conversation to heart,” Wadden said Tuesday. “They stopped spraying aspen trees with foliar applied pesticides for aphids, they stopped applying fertilizer within 15 feet of the creek, and they stopped spraying invasive weeds on one particular steep slope that is right adjacent to the creek.”

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Wadden described the recovery of bug numbers in Red Sandstone Creek as “really astounding,” applauding the Sandstone Creek Club for implementing the changes.

Gore Creek overall is continuing to show signs of ecological recovery, Wadden said, but the creek remains on the list of impaired waterways due to continued stress from pesticides and other pollutants, and a lack of riparian buffer zones in front of the creek.

The town has set a goal to remove Gore Creek from the impaired waters list by 2029, and is in the process of unveiling a series of projects that will help it get there. Efforts include a $607,000 in-stream habitat improvement project at the east end of Ford Park; the implementation of a townwide stormwater management plan; installation of 250 new pollution and sediment capture devices at stormwater inlets; and expanded outreach and potential regulatory reform focused on pesticide use in residential areas.

Another project is being called the Vail Golf Club Gore Creek Vegetation Enhancement Plan. It will be presented to the public at an open house on July 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Vail Golf Clubhouse.

Among the most significant proposals is the relocation of holes No. 7 and No. 8 on the course.

“Historically, these holes have been closed during spring runoff,” . “Moving them would create additional floodplain space, allowing Gore Creek to meander — bending and curving naturally — which helps regulate water flow, reduce erosion, and create diverse habitats that support aquatic life.”

Additional course alterations include moving the 15th green farther from the creek to expand the riparian buffer, addressing erosion along the 11th fairway and mitigating algae growth in the pond, and reducing chemical use near streamside areas to protect aquatic life.

“Looking at 2009, 2010, 2011, those early years, we’ve really made big improvements,” Wadden said. “That indicates that all the effort we’ve made on Gore Creek, all the investments we’ve made, are making some progress.”

However, Wadden added, “unfortunately, we’re still pretty far from our goal.”