The Story of Blue River & Boulder Creek
Have you ever summited one of the most commonly climbed fourteeners in Colorado, Quandary Peak? Have you ever driven by the expansive Dillon Reservoir just off of I-70? Then you have seen the water of the Blue River, either through snowpack on Quandary Peak (near its headwaters) or stored in or passing through the vast reservoir in Dillon.
Photo: Tenmile Range from Lake Dillon – Michael Kirsh – Flickr.com/Photos/Michaelkirsh
The Blue River is a Gold Medal fishery, home to an abundance of rainbow trout. The river is also popular for canoeing and kayaking, as it has two whitewater runs for those brave of heart. It is a beautiful river lined with cottonwood trees and crowned by mountain ranges.
Photo: Whitewater on the Boulder Creek – Blue River – Mickey O’Hara
For years, they saw their Blue River hurting. Their mission was to keep their water rights in the Blue River basin by ensuring that their water go to local use and not to “water some lawns on the Front Range.” But to do that is extremely complicated in the Colorado water law system that was set up in the 1800’s. They would need a lot of help. Scott Hummer, then the water commissioner in their area and whom they went to asking for help, knew there was a group of people who might be able to make this possible. He contacted Colorado Water Trust – a then newly formed organization with the goal of proving that you could work within Colorado water law to restore water to rivers by buying and leasing water rights.
Photo: Boulder Creek – Blue River – Mickey O’Hara
It was such a ground-breaking project that it made the news. And Scott Hummer said it was a turning point for not just Colorado Water Trust, but also for spawning action in the Blue River Valley community. The talk about this project and the recent years of dramatic differences in stream flows, mobilized the community to form the Blue River Watershed Group, aimed to engage their local community in protecting their watershed.
Since 2011, the project has restored
2.3 billion gallons
(over 7000 acre feet)
of water to the Boulder Creek and the Blue River. The details of our projects have evolved and matured since then, but our goal remains the same: To help Coloradans like the Mosers support their rivers and streams in need.
Photo: Boulder Creek – Blue River – Mickey O’Hara