Protect and Enjoy the Wild Yampa

American Whitewater firmly believes that you can’t protect what you don’t know. Colorado’s Yampa River is a prime example of this belief, and after exploring this river with our members in May, and participating in the Yampa River Awareness Project with decision makers from across the water world, we are hard at work protecting one of the Most Endangered Whitewater Resources in the country.

We’ve had some wonderful experiences on the Yampa and AW continues to be in the forefront of protecting, restoring, and enjoying this beautiful and endangered river.

Next week, American Whitewater will be talking about flow targets for the river at a special meeting of the Yampa Roundtable, which represents the Yampa, White, and Green River Basin in Colorado’s State-wide water planning. We are presenting the best science on managing for recreational flow- needs, along side the National Park Service, the Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program, and leading scientists from Colorado State University.

Some of the many difficult decisions we are working on include:

- Should we be looking at protecting higher base flows?

- What’s needed for peak flows and how do new projects affect peak flows?

- Flow protection: What’s needed and are there pitfalls?

- How can we evaluate the benefits, or impacts, to recreation from future water development?

Getting into the nitty-gritty about flow levels is absolutely critical. That’s why AW is on the frontlines, assisting with the technical work to identify and protect flows that will sustain the full range of recreation experiences, as well as critical environmental needs. Without these numbers, all our talk of protecting the Yampa won’t come to much. With them, we’re armed with the data we need to protect the river. That way, we all have the opportunity to see this incredible river carve its way through Dinosaur National monument, just as it has for generations before us.

So we’re proud to be doing our part in this epic project, and we urge you to get involved, and stay involved. The Yampa will need everyone on its side to keep it wild and beautiful.