Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Tribal communities stand to receive substantial economic benefits for local conservation priorities
Late last week, the Bureau of Reclamation awarded a new round of federal funding grants for 42 conservation projects totaling $388.3 million across the Upper Colorado River Basin. Out of this pool of funding, TU is a partner on more than $117 million worth of projects across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and the Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
“All across the Basin, federal investments are providing billions of dollars of critical funding to communities to help western states better manage long-term drought and natural disasters like wildfires and build resilience to hotter and drier conditions,” said Sara Porterfield, Colorado River program director and western water policy advisor for Trout Unlimited. “This most recent round of funding through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Upper Basin Environmental Drought Mitigation (B2E) Program reflects the desires and needs of communities, states, and individuals across the political spectrum to build upon the success of these programs as a nonpartisan issue.”
This investment is coming at an important time as communities––urban, rural, and Tribal––grapple with the implications of long-term drought.
“Investing in communities that care deeply for their watersheds delivers critical and lasting impacts,” said Emily Olsen, vice president of the Rocky Mountain region at Trout Unlimited. “Alongside earlier investments like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Great American Outdoors Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this funding will help us build a healthier and more resilient Colorado River system by continuing to prioritize locally-driven conservation efforts.”
Federal funding has been an economic driver in rural America across the West, revolutionizing the potential of communities like Helper, Utah, and prompting additional private sector investment from corporate partnerships. These funds have benefited generational ranching families, local contractors, and 40 million people reliant on the continued health of the Colorado River.
As such, entities ranging from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UTDWR), the Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Price River Watershed Conservation District, the Colorado River Authority of Utah, Gunnison Conservation District, the Colorado State Office of the Bureau of Land Management, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wyoming Game and Fish, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation sought these funds to advance conservation priorities unique to each state.
“We are so excited that these important projects were selected for funding through this program,” said UTDWR habitat conservation coordinator Daniel Eddington. “Investing in the continued maintenance and improvement of habitat is crucial for the health of Utah’s fish and wildlife species, so we are grateful to our many partners, including Trout Unlimited, who partnered with us on these grant applications and will assist with the upcoming projects.”
Specifically, TU is listed as a partner on a number of projects including, but not limited to, the following:
Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation-Completion of a Watershed Assessment and Restoration Plan and Subsequent Project and Implementation on the Lowest Reaches of the Duchesne and White Rivers Near Ouray, Utah: Up to approximately $18 million
- Funding is provided to assess degraded river channels and restore stream channels focusing on river health, habitat, and water quality. Additional efforts will stabilize eroding banks, reconnect floodplains, and remove invasive plant species to support native vegetation.
Green River Tributaries Aquatic and Riparian Initiative: Up to approximately $13 million
- The project includes stream restoration, wetland creation, and infrastructure improvements to enhance aquatic habitat and drought resilience to seven tributaries of the Upper Green River, with key components including replacing the U.S. Highway 189 Fontenelle Creek culvert with a fish-passable structure, consolidating multiple diversion structures for improved fish passage, creating new wetlands, stream restoration, and protecting riparian areas from drought.
Price River Restoration: Up to approximately $4.8 million
- Funding is provided to restore high-elevation wetlands, perennial tributaries, and heavily impacted portions of the Price River by improving water quality, increasing base flows and stabilizing eroding banks. These projects will enhance and protect the critical habitats of native species such as Colorado River cutthroat trout and greater sage-grouse.
Huntington Creek Restoration: Up to approximately $2.6 million
- Restoration in Huntington Creek will include drainage-wide efforts to restore habitat and water quality degradation caused by intense wildfires and heavy post-fire flooding. Over a decade of fires, drought, flooding and habitat loss have limited the carrying capacity of Huntington Creek, once a thriving ecosystem. This project will provide significant stability and wildlife resiliency established through stream restoration and habitat enhancement.
Scofield Reservoir Tributaries Restoration: Up to approximately $2.8 million
- Funding is provided for stream restoration and grazing management improvements in tributaries of Scofield Reservoir, one of the largest water storage reservoirs in Southeast Utah. Bank stabilization, native plantings and habitat restoration will decrease habitat degradation and increase water quality for wildlife and downstream water users alike.
Upper Colorado Basin Aquatic Organism Passage Program: Up to approximately $4.2 million
- Funding is provided to restore stream habitat in Grand County, promoting biodiversity and resilience against drought conditions while enhancing habitat connectivity and improving fish passage for native species, particularly Colorado River cutthroat trout.
“Water is something bringing a lot of different groups to the table across the Colorado River Basin,” said Jordan Nielson, Utah State director for Trout Unlimited. “We’re all looking for ways to make the most use out of every drop.”