Yampa River Health Assessment & Streamflow Management Plan

The Yampa River Health Assessment and Streamflow Management Plan identifies a long-term strategy for protecting and improving the health and resiliency of the Yampa River near Steamboat Springs. Warming air temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing demand for water from the Yampa River are emerging threats to our valley’s most treasured resource.

This plan provides the community of Steamboat Springs with an executable implementation strategy and a scientifically-based and stakeholder-driven foundation for future planning, decision-making, and negotiation for the management of the Yampa River.

City Council unanimously adopted the Yampa River Streamflow Management Plan on August 28, 2018 demonstrating the city government’s commitment to the Plan’s implementation and long-term success. However, the footprint of the municipal boundary is just 1.5 percent of the total square miles of the watershed contributing to the Steamboat reach of the Yampa River. River health in this reach is affected by many factors beyond the city’s scope and authority. Therefore, partnerships are essential to achieving the goals and objectives laid out here. The implementation strategy is designed to be a shared responsibility, dependent upon the collaboration and commitment of many entities to protecting the health and resiliency of the Yampa River system.

Project Reports - FINAL

The final report and appendices can be found below:

• Yampa River Health Assessment and Streamflow Management Plan, 2018
• Appendix A: Action Implementation Summaries
• Appendix B: Yampa River Health Assessment Report
• Appendix C: Water Management Strategies Technical Memorandum
• Appendix D: Restoration Opportunities Summary Report
• Appendix E: Water Temperature Management Opportunities Summary Report
• Appendix F: Community Input Summary