Fall has been beautiful here in the Yampa Valley this year with warm weather that has granted us a few extra days out on the trails or enjoying some fantastic fishing on the river. While I have enjoyed every minute of this fall weather, it will soon be time to welcome some of the snow that so many of us love. Let’s all hope for a bountiful winter that provides epic conditions for the winter sports that we enjoy so much, but just as importantly, fills our creeks and the Yampa River through next summer.

As the new Yampa River Fund manager, I’m excited to have a role in the development and implementation of the Yampa River Fund. I welcome the opportunity to build on the foundation of those who set up the fund to make a difference in this community. 

Considering the frequency of drought and low flow conditions that we are seeing throughout the West, but more specifically here in the Yampa Valley, this fund will continue to be critical in providing water security through water leasing opportunities for years to come. In addition, the fund will continue to support restoration activities and infrastructure improvements throughout the watershed.

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The opportunity to serve in this role is a chance to harness all my skills and previous experiences working on rivers throughout the Western U.S. My work on stream habitat protection, ecology and project management will help me facilitate the work of the fund partners to maximize the value of available funding and invest in good projects that will benefit all of us in the Yampa River watershed.

I spent the past 15 years working on water resource issues in Wyoming including completing fish habitat studies that led to instream flow water right applications on rivers around the state. Prior to that, I worked as a fisheries biologist for a consulting firm that had projects in Texas, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. I’ve seen a lot of great landscapes and beautiful rivers, but few compare to the Yampa and the opportunities it provides right here in our backyard to fish, float and just marvel at the beauty of a wild river.

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Relocating to Steamboat Springs full time is the fulfillment of a dream and my family has found the community to be compassionate, welcoming and hard working. This is a great place to raise a family and a place that makes you want to invest your time and energy to help keep it that way. I look forward to meeting many of you out on the trail or along the river enjoying one of the amazing outdoor opportunities that probably brought you here in the first place.

For more information about the Yampa River Fund, visit YampaRiverFund.org

Mike Robertson is the Yampa River Fund Manager with Friends of the Yampa.