If you can remember waaay back to June, the Yampa River was flowing heartily as the snow melted off Mount Werner. Each lingering snow patch took a turn to melt away and add a little extra to the swollen river. But as we all know, it didn’t last, and the mighty Yampa dwindled down to what felt like a trickle by mid-summer. 

Of course, this scenario is the reason the Yampa River Fund was formed. Every year, the River Fund contributes grant funds to support flow releases from Stagecoach Reservoir, and for the last couple of years, from Elkhead Reservoir as well.

As low as the river got this summer, it could have been much worse if not for this critical function of the Yampa River Fund. We are grateful that there is a sustainable source of funds to support that program and enough funds remaining to support other restoration and infrastructure improvement projects in the basin. 

One of the 30 projects that has been funded since 2019 was a stream restoration project on private property that is protected with a conservation easement. Trout Creek is a tributary that enters the Yampa River around Milner, but higher up in the watershed, the creek runs through the Knott Ranch, owners of Trout Creek Meats.

The Knott family takes pride in stewarding the land and stream as evidenced by the award they received at the 2024 Sustaining Colorado Watersheds Conference recognizing them as “Riparian Heroes.” 

In 2022, the River Fund contributed to a project on Trout Creek designed to protect existing ranch infrastructure in areas of high erosion while also improving the health of Trout Creek through a process-based restoration design. Such designs require a less heavy-handed approach and set the creek up to use its own natural processes, like reconnecting to the floodplain and restoring plants back to the riparian habitat, to slowly bring the stream back to its former glory.

This type of partnership, with a private landowner higher in the watershed, pays dividends to improve streamflow conditions downstream. After restoration, the creek doesn’t run off as fast, and more shading keeps it from heating up too quickly. Plus, reduced erosion means better water quality as it moves down through the watershed.

The improvements in Trout Creek may not be at a scale that will dramatically change conditions in the Yampa River through Steamboat and downstream, but it helps move it in the right direction. As the Yampa River Fund continues to support improvement projects throughout the watershed, we will see incremental improvements that add up to meaningful impacts in the river that we all love. 

Learn more about the Yampa River Fund and its grant program that will distribute another round of funding in spring 2026 at YampaRiverFund.org. And learn more about our work with local businesses to raise funds at YampaRippleEffect.org. 

Mike Robertson is the manager of the Yampa River Fund (mike@friendsoftheyampa.com). The Yampa River Fund Endowment Fund is a Designated Endowment Fund of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation.