Restoration Projects

This project uses a Stage Zero stream restoration approach to restore the lower half-mile of Willow Creek. Stage Zero stream restoration reconnects a stream to its natural floodplain, creating healthy wetlands and diverse stream channels that improve water storage, wildlife habitat, water quality, and resilience to floods and droughts. By reconnecting the creek to its floodplain, the project will spread water, sediment, and nutrients across the valley, reducing the erosive force of high flows while enhancing riparian vegetation, recharging groundwater, and improving aquatic habitat. The restoration also includes approximately one mile of Church Creek, a Willow Creek tributary, within the newly designated Willow Creek Reservoir State Wildlife Area.

The Kaibab Park Stream Improvement Project will restore a section of the Fraser River through Kaibab Park in the Town of Granby by reshaping the artificially straightened channel to create a healthier, more natural stream. Project goals are to improve aquatic habitat for fish and benthic macroinvertebrates by increasing channel complexity, narrowing the stream, reducing water temperatures, and enhancing sediment transport. These improvements are expected to increase fish populations, support healthier aquatic ecosystems, and create a more resilient river corridor for future generations. Construction will start in August 2026 and conclude in September 2026.

The Cabin Creek Aquatic Organism Passage Project restored fish passage by replacing an undersized road culvert with a stream simulation culvert that allows native Colorado River cutthroat trout, amphibians, and other aquatic species to move freely upstream and downstream. By reconnecting habitat and restoring natural stream function, the project improves ecosystem health and supports the long-term resilience of Cabin Creek.