By Shannon Lukens. PHOTO: Morgan Bottom Connectivity Project received grants for Phase 2 of the project. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Yampa.

 

The Yampa River Fund Steering Committee has announced seven grants they are awarding this year, for $278,945.60. It is to projects on the Yampa that benefit the river and its tributaries. They are:

• 2025 Yampa River Environmental Release Program – Colorado Water Trust
• Morgan Bottom Connectivity Project: Phase II – Friends of the Yampa
• Yampa River Forest Restoration Project – Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
• Nonlethal Beaver Management in the Yampa Valley – Friends of the Yampa
• Wet Meadow Restoration on Conserved Lands to Improve Watershed Health – Colorado Cattleman’s Agricultural Land Trust
• Stillwater Reservoir Drain, Collar, and Channel Replacement Project – Bear River Reservoir Co.
• Duquette Diversion Hydraulic Modeling – Community Agriculture Alliance

 

Press Release from Friends of the Yampa; May 19, 2025.

Yampa River Fund Announces 2025 grants

 

The Yampa River Fund Steering Committee has announced its grant recipients for 2025. Now in its sixth year of operation, the River Fund awarded the largest number of grants and total dollar amount so far as it continues to contribute to a healthier future for the Yampa River as a vital component of northwest Colorado’s lifestyle and economy.

 

Seven grants totaling $278,945.60 were awarded to projects that benefit the river and its tributaries. The Yampa River Fund continues to provide critical funding for supplemental late season flows to the river from Stagecoach reservoir as needed. Given the rapidly melting snowpack this spring, it appears the need will be great this year. Funding was also awarded for flow releases from Elkhead Reservoir in late summer and fall, as needed, to support water security and ecological integrity of the Yampa downstream from where Elkhead Creek enters the Yampa River between Hayden and Craig.

 

The Yampa River Fund is also contributing to a floodplain planning project downstream of Steamboat Springs in the Morgan Bottom Reach near Hayden, a popular tree planting project along the Yampa River in Steamboat, a new program to assist with beaver management in the Yampa Valley using non-lethal techniques, and restoration efforts on private lands to reduce erosion and maintain important wet meadow habitats. Two other projects will help improve water infrastructure facilities while incorporating techniques to encourage environmental and recreational improvements. These include final improvements to Stillwater Reservoir in South Routt County that will enable the reservoir operations to lift its operating restrictions and planning to replace an important diversion to the Duquette ditch.

 

“We had more grant funds available for projects this year and that generated even more interest from a diverse group of applicants. We’re excited to see the impacts from this latest round of projects and look forward to continuing to provide this critical funding source supporting the health of the Yampa River every year,” said Mike Robertson, Yampa River Fund manager for Friends of the Yampa.

 

The seven projects and grantees chosen are:

 

2025 Yampa River Environmental Release Program – Colorado Water Trust

The Colorado Water Trust (CWT) has agreements in place to strategically release up to 5,100 acre-feet from Stagecoach Reservoir and up to 2,000 acre-feet from Elkhead Reservoir during low flow conditions.

 

Morgan Bottom Connectivity Project: Phase II – Friends of the Yampa

Phase II of the Morgan Bottom Habitat Connectivity Project is a continuation of the collaboration with landowners to improve floodplain connectivity and riparian habitat in the Middle Yampa. It includes developing the 60% design and continued stakeholder engagement.

 

Yampa River Forest Restoration Project – Yampa Valley Sustainability Council

The Yampa River Forest Restoration Project involves planting trees to create riparian buffers at 10 sites along the Yampa River. This work has been ongoing in the Yampa Basin since 2019 and helps improve water quality, water storage, and terrestrial and aquatic habitat.

 

Nonlethal Beaver Management in the Yampa Valley – Friends of the Yampa

Funding will help the efforts of the newly created Yampa Valley Beaver Working Group work with interested landowners to conduct nonlethal beaver management to protect and increase beaver populations and habitat, where appropriate.

 

Wet Meadow Restoration on Conserved Lands to Improve Watershed Health – Colorado Cattleman’s Agricultural Land Trust

This project will restore 20 locations, on properties with conservation easements, where erosion is problematic. These efforts will improve watershed health in the headwaters by slowing erosion, reducing nutrient contributions, raising water tables, and increasing resilience to droughts, floods, and wildfires.

 

Stillwater Reservoir Drain, Collar, and Channel Replacement Project – Bear River Reservoir Co.

The project is to design and construct a drain and filter collar around the reservoir’s outlet conduit. This is the final step in a process to rehabilitate the dam to make operations safe and remove storage restrictions that have limited the storage capacity of this reservoir since 2019.

 

Duquette Diversion Hydraulic Modeling – Community Agriculture Alliance

This funding will enable the next step of the planning phase for this diversion replacement project.  Once the Hydraulic Model is complete, the engineering firm will be able to evaluate the preferred design and assess how a final design can meet the required floodplain permitting requirements.

 

“The Yampa River Fund continues to attract diverse and ecologically significant projects, sometimes these play out behind the scenes, and sometimes they are in the forefront,” said Jackie Brown, chair of the Yampa River Fund Board. “Given the disappointing 2025 water year, the community will likely notice the releases more than in an average water year – but this is why we built the fund!  I am most enthusiastic about our Fund’s dedicated member and donor participation, and the interest that NW Colorado continues to show in supporting the Fund. The result is more projects, and therefore more data relative to how our basin can adapt to climate and hydrologic change and increased funding leverage up and down the Yampa River watershed.”

 

The Yampa River Fund is an endowment fund of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation and was launched in September 2019 to provide a sustainable, voluntary funding source for the Yampa River to enhance water security and support a healthy, flowing river by enhancing critical low flows, and maintaining or improving river function through a holistic approach to restoration of habitat.

 

The Fund is governed by a 21-member founding Board representing local governments, community and statewide NGOs, businesses, water providers and irrigation districts.

 

More information on the Yampa River Fund can be found at yampariverfund.org.