Blue River Watershed Group and Trout Unlimited begin community-led design to improve the Blue River in Silverthorne

On behalf of the Blue River Watershed Group, we are excited to announce the launch of a community-driven river improvement project on the Blue River. 

The Blue River Watershed Group (BRWG) non-profit organization was founded in 2004 by local community members passionate about protecting the health of the Blue River basin. Our mission is to promote, protect, and restore a healthy Blue River watershed through cooperative community education, stewardship, and resource management. As a result of the Gold Medal delisting of sections of the Blue River below the Dillon Dam in 2016, our community came together to address the underlying causes of the habitat decline. 

The Integrated Water Management Plan was conceived by BRWG and Trout Unlimited to research the reasons behind the degraded ecosystem and provide restoration-based solutions. Through this research, the Blue River Habitat Restoration Project was conceived and is currently in the planning phase.

The Blue River Habitat Restoration Project (referred to as Project) addresses the significant decline in habitat quality on the Blue River as outlined in the IWMP. The Verdantas team was recently contracted to provide design engineering services on his highly anticipated project. The most important aspect of the design process is that it will incorporate the input from a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure the redesign of the river is accomplishing the needs of its many users while capitalizing on the opportunities this restoration project offers our diverse community for future benefit. 

Your input is paramount. To ensure we obtain sufficient community input, the design team has developed a substantial outreach plan including the following components: stakeholder interviews, a design workshop, public meetings, a technical advisory team, and an iterative design process. You are invited to participate in the process of  redesigning and revitalizing the Blue River in your community.

The Project will address two sections of the river, one through the Town of Silverthorne and the other 7 miles north of town near the Blue River Campground. The Project will enhance degraded aquatic habitat and restore the Blue to a more sustainable and healthier ecosystem. Enhancements will likely include channel shaping in overly wide and shallow areas, creating appropriate pool-riffle-glide spacing, adding fish habitat features, planting riparian vegetation, importing gravel for fish spawning habitat, and improving access trails, stairs, and ramps for all recreationists.

The Town is interested in evaluating its recreational in-channel diversion (RICD) water rights for potential coordinated releases from the Dam, which could enable significant improvements for non-motorized boating opportunities. All designs considered (such as a whitewater course, a freestyle hole, or a standing wave) will prioritize compatibility with the Project’s goals of enhancing aquatic habitat and providing for fish passage. Other aspects of this urban project include consideration of the FEMA-regulated floodplains, the need to address current stormwater infrastructure concerns, a possible new pedestrian bridge, and a new bridge downtown to alleviate pressure when the Town is inundated with traffic from the I-70 closures.
 
Please don't hesitate to reach out directly to Kendra at projects@blueriverwatershed.org and 719-838-1525 or Nancy at nancy.johnston@tu.org and 970-462-6750 with your feedback or opinions about this project.