Peer Workshops

8/26/2025

During this workshop, participants identified the strengths and limitations of their planning efforts through a self assessment. Through guided discussions, participants discovered the enabling factors to make their plan an actionable tool instead of a dust collecting item on the shelf. During a panel discussion, participants explored lessons learned and tips from organizations around the state that have effectively and efficiently moved from planning to project implementation under different circumstances. Finally, participants celebrated the collective work that watershed planning leads have advanced across the state over ten years of planning. 

Presentations included:

5/8/2025 – 5/9/2025

During this field trip, participants learned about the Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative (RCI). The RCI utilizes a Core Team for ongoing coordination and strategic polanning, focused on stakeholder driven approaches and needs. RCI also collaborates with an Advisory Council representative of local, state, and federal governments, as well as nonprofits, businesses, and landowners. Field trip participants also learned about Wildfire Ready Action Plans and had the opportunity to visit multi-jurisdictional project site visits.

Presentations included:

5/7/2025

Workshop participants gained a conceptual understanding of CoRHAF’s application, gained hands-on experience utilizing the CoRHAF based on a hypothetical assessment , and had the chance to provide feedback on CoRHAF’s utility.

Presentations included:

10/07/2024

Participants engage with experts on targeted regulation of key water resources through various tools such as overlay districts, 1041 regulations, or a watershed protection district. In addition, participants learned how watershed planning can establish baseline conditions of stream health that have implications for local planning and regulation. During the workshop, participants practiced using local governmental tools that protect riparian corridors, floodplains, fluvial hazard zones, wetlands, and other key water features outside of streambanks.

Presentations included:

7/23-24/2024

During this field trip along the Mancos River, participants explored the Mancos Stream Management Plan with Mancos Conservation District. Site visits included a multi-benefit diversion project on private land, the Mancos Valley Smart Metering Project, and a forestry site. Participants engaged in an interactive stakeholder engagement and consensus building training.

10/2/2023

During this workshop, participants learned about the environmental flows process, how it relates to Stream Management Plans, and how to measure flow. Participants explored the barriers and opportunities to environmental flows and learned about American Whitewater’s flow measurement tool. This workshop was formatted as a “teaser” for the 2024 environmental flows cohort hosted by River Network, Western Resource Advocates, and Colorado Water Trust. This workshop was held as a pre-pre conference workshop at 2023 Sustaining Colorado Watersheds Conference in Avon, CO.

8/2/2023 – 8/4/2023

Wet meadows tour: Yampa River Collaborative visited Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District  to learn about their wet meadows restoration work. The goal of the visit was to generate ideas for how to implement similar projects in the Yampa River Basin.

Gunnison SMP/IWMP Field Trip: Participants explored the Gunnison Integrated Water Management Plan and tested out tools and approaches used in the planning process. Training on wet meadows assessments and macroinvertebrate sampling focused on two indicators of river health (floodplain connectivity and aquatic biota). Participants participated in implementation site visits to learn about watershed system optimization.

6/22/2023

Participants explored the West Plum Creek Stream Management Plan and tested out tools and approaches used in the planning process. Training was provided on assessing two indicators of river health (aquatic biota and structural complexity), including macroinvertebrate sampling and aquatic habitat assessment training. Participants received training on facilitation techniques to apply in their SMP/IWMP. Participants also learned about the fishes of West Plum Creek.

10/20/2022

Are you interested in learning if a Stream Management Plan is a good fit for your community? Join River Network and the Colorado Water Conservation Board to learn the basics of SMPs, including their history, steps in the planning process, five years of accomplishments, and how to get started. You’ll also hear from the Mancos, South Boulder Creek, and Saint Vrain and Left Hand SMP leads about the methods and outcomes of their Stream Management Plans.

10/10/2022

During this workshop, held prior to the 2022 Sustaining Colorado Watersheds Conference in Avon, CO, participants learned about the updated Colorado Water Plan, including Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) grant opportunities and the proposed Colorado River Health Assessment Framework (CORHAF). In addition, participants had the chance to problem solve common challenges related to stream and integrated watershed management planning with experts and their peers.