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.

River Sunset

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.

The following documents are available by request through NextRequest. Archived documents are provided for download in PDF format, which may not be compatible with assistive technology. Individuals requiring an alternate format to access our digital services can complete the Request for Assistance Form.

  • Yampa River Health Assessment and Streamflow Management Plan, 2018

Community Engagement

The planning process involved the participation of a wide range of stakeholders and the public with the intent to understand diverse interests and develop community-supported solutions. Community engagement included an Advisory Committee that met throughout the process, outreach to multiple stakeholder groups, and community workshops.

RecStakeholderGrp (7)

The Advisory Committee was made up of representatives of the following agencies and organizations:

  • City of Steamboat Springs Parks & Recreation
  • City of Steamboat Springs Public Works
  • Routt County Environmental Health
  • Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  • Colorado Water Trust
  • Community Agriculture Alliance
  • Trout Unlimited – Colorado Water Project
  • Yampa Valley Fly Fishers
  • Friends of the Yampa
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • Upper Yampa Watershed Group
  • Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District

Yampa River Health Assessment

A comprehensive assessment evaluated the core drivers of Yampa River health represented by 11 variables of river function (e.g., flow regime, water quality, riparian condition) and developed a “report card” for river reaches from the Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area to the City Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Yampa River view

Management Objectives

The plan identifies eight management objectives to serve as specific, measurable outcomes to help achieve the overall plan goals. Each objective includes monitoring indicators and targets for the desired future conditions.

Plan Implementation 

The community prioritized 15 actions to focus on initiating over the next two years.  The priority actions include specific projects, such as a riparian revegetation program, and actions to improve foundational capabilities for long-term funding and decision–making, such as establishing a Yampa River Water Fund and an interdisciplinary City “stream team” to review potential projects that affect river health.

Kids working with Parks and Wildlife to plant trees

Julie Baxter, Water Resources Manager
City of Steamboat Springs
Email Julie Baxter
970-871-8267
115 10th Street
Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80487

IMG_2736a