It’s the season of gratefulness, hope, and reflection, and we are celebrating by sharing highlights from two of our seven watershed restoration projects in the Eagle River Watershed. This work is possible thanks to generous cash and in-kind support from grantors, donors, collaborating partners and volunteers. We are beyond grateful for your continued support – together we can do more.
Read on to learn more about the Bohr Flats Wet Meadows Restoration Project and the upcoming Riverwalk River Restoration Project.
Bohr Flats: Two Years of On-the-Ground Watershed Restoration
Tucked away near Castle Peak in land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, we are supporting a Low Tech Process-Based Restoration project working to restore sagebrush habitat. These unique systems are part of the mid-elevation sagebrush ecosystem. These landscapes are rich in biodiversity but vulnerable to degradation. Essential habitat for many different species. Unfortunately, many mesic areas—those with moderate moisture—and riparian zones have been damaged by decades of land-use practices, leaving them scarred by erosion, incised gullies, and declining water tables.The result? Drying meadows, reduced wildlife habitat, and diminished forage for livestock.
Using innovative, low-tech methods developed by restoration experts Bill Zeedyk and Joe Wheaton, the Eagle River Coalition and the Bureau of Land Management, with help from the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, have installed hand-built rock and wooden structures to stabilize these critical systems. The goal is to slow water flow, disperse its energy, and capture sediment. This then promotes the growth of water-loving plants and helps raise the water table. Over time, the wet meadow will begin to heal itself, regenerating plant cover, restoring habitat and improving soil moisture.
Want to learn more about this project?
Riverwalk Restoration Project: On the horizon
The Riverwalk at Edwards is a popular area that hosts many different amenities, ranging from community offices to shopping centers. Our point of interest is The Riverwalk at Edwards, in which a quarter mile of the Eagle County Trail and Eagle River runs through the north end of the property, which is an extremely popular river access area for community members in Eagle County. This popularity and ease of access also comes with pitfalls as this unguided, unmanaged and unmitigated traffic has led to abundant social trails damaging native riparian vegetation and exacerbating surface soil erosion. Other areas of concern include stormwater infrastructure improvements, native habitat preservation and even treatment of oversteep banks, where grading and erosion control may be needed.
The Riverwalk Restoration Project will address these primary issues and strengthen a more resilient micro-watershed system while continuing to provide easy and direct river access is what we aim to address with the. By restoring and enhancing the riparian habitat, we can better provide ecological services like pollution filtration and reduction in d buildup. And in engaging the local community through volunteer work days and providing educational signage and outreach events, we can ensure safe, accessible and high-quality recreation opportunities for the community. Please keep your eye on this project, as opportunities to support this effort will continue rolling out in the near future. Even as soon as 2026.
