Winter is wrapping up and spring is in the air at the Crested Butte Land Trust. Through our partnership with the Slate River Working Group, we’re gearing up for another season of river stewardship and responsible recreation in order to protect the precious wetlands and wildlife habitat of the Slate River Valley.

The Great Blue Herons are back!

The birds have returned to the Great Blue Heron rookery and we’ve noted 14 occupied nests so far. The heron nests are 75 percent-occupied based on previous years’ counts, and we expect the herons to continue arriving this spring. The Slate River Working Group recently met to re-confirm the voluntary no-float period in order to respect the herons during their critical nesting period. Please respect the voluntary no-float period from now until July 15 and help us maintain this fragile wildlife refuge.

River Steward Program

Our River Steward Program, in partnership with the Slate River Working Group, will also return this summer. We’ll have river stewards located at the Gunsight Bridge and the Rec Path Bridge to monitor recreation traffic, help educate river users about respectful river etiquette, and share information about the voluntary no-float period. The addition of human presence in these popular recreation areas over the last two years has resulted in significant, positive changes in community behavior, and we’re proud to continue this program in 2021. 

Every winter, the Crested Butte Land Trust helps monitor mountain snowpack for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) snow survey. This survey provides a long-term record of mountain snowpack data, and helps to forecast streamflow and drought conditions. There are over 100 snow course sites across the state and one of the oldest survey sites in Colorado is located on one of the Crested Butte Land Trust’s conserved properties, established in 1936.

Just like recreation and land management, the measurement of snow water equivalent in the Upper Gunnison River Watershed succeeds through partnerships. Last month, we had the opportunity to measure snow depth and water content data with the Bureau of Land Management for the snow survey. The data we collected contributed to the NRCS’s latest water supply outlook, which reported the Gunnison River Basin snowpack at below normal at 89 percent of a 30-year median. The Gunnison River Basin is currently forecasted to produce streamflow volumes at 57 percent of average.

The NRCS depends on local entities like us to collect this data in order to determine the water supply forecasts. In return, the NRCS forecast helps communities with water supply management, flood control, climate modeling, recreation, and conservation planning.

As a friendly reminder, if you ever come across our snow course marker near the Magic Meadows Yurt, please respect the area and maintain distance as traffic through the site can affect our snow data.

The 19th Annual Caddis Cup is on! Join us July 16 for a kick-off party then hit the waters on Saturday, July 17 with your personal guide. Help us fundraise for conservation while exploring the storied rivers and streams of the Gunnison Valley. Entries are limited, so click here learn more and register today!