Steamboat Pilot & Today (May 21, 2025)—The Yampa River Fund Steering Committee announced its 2025 grant recipients, awarding its largest number of grants and total dollar amount to date.
The Fund, an endowment fund of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, launched in September 2019 to support a healthy, flowing Yampa River. Its seven grants this year total $278,945.60 for projects benefiting the river and its tributaries.
The fund is overseen by a 21-member founding board.
“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, in a news release.
The seven projects and grantees chosen are:
2025 Yampa River Environmental Release Program – Colorado Water Trust:
The Colorado Water Trust will release up to 5,100 acre-feet from Stagecoach Reservoir as well as up to 2,000 acre-feet from Elkhead Reservoir during low flows.
Morgan Bottom Connectivity Project: Phase II – Friends of the Yampa:
The Morgan Bottom Habitat Connectivity Project’s second phase will continue the collaboration with landowners to improve floodplain connectivity and riparian habitat in the Middle Yampa. Phase 2 will develop the 60% design and continued stakeholder engagement.
Yampa River Forest Restoration Project – Yampa Valley Sustainability Council:
The Yampa River Forest Restoration Project creates riparian buffers at 10 sites along the Yampa River by planting trees. This work has been ongoing since 2019.
Nonlethal Beaver Management in the Yampa Valley – Friends of the Yampa:
The newly created Yampa Valley Beaver Working Group will use funding to help interested landowners to conduct nonlethal beaver management for the protection of beaver populations, where appropriate.
Wet Meadow Restoration on Conserved Lands to Improve Watershed Health – Colorado Cattleman’s Agricultural Land Trust:
The project will help restore 20 locations where erosion is problematic to improve watershed health.
Stillwater Reservoir Drain, Collar and Channel Replacement Project – Bear River Reservoir Co.:
The aim of this project is to design and build a drain and filter collar around the reservoir’s outlet conduit. This is the last step in a process to rehabilitate the dam.
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, in the release. “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 Northwest Colorado continues to show in supporting the fund,” Brown continued. “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.”
More information on the Yampa River Fund is at YampaRiverFund.org.
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