“At first glance, it looks like an ordinary fence surrounding a large mountain valley meadow.” Read the story here.

“Isabel de Silva Shewell walked through a meadow of what she called "zombie" willows.” Read the story here.

“Beavers have built a large dam, a sign of their return near the Holzwarth Historic Site elk exclosure, as seen on June 25, 2026. Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park is working to entice beavers back into the Kawuneeche Valley after decades of willow degradation.” Read the story here.

“Amid a field of “zombie willows” in the Kawuneeche Valley within Rocky Mountain National Park, researchers and water providers are taking lessons from nature’s ecosystem engineers to build drought resilience and restore wetlands.” Read the story here.

“The Kawuneeche Valley Restoration Collaborative received a grant from the National Park Foundation to support efforts to restore the Kawuneeche Valley ecosystem. The grant will fund exclosure fencing intended to promote willow regrowth.” Read the story here.

“Surging runoff from the high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park in 2025 overwhelmed the banks of Beaver Creek, a tributary near the headwaters of the Colorado River, and flooded two and a half football fields’ worth of surrounding meadows.” Read the story here.

“We'll talk about this great ecology story.” Listen here.

“A landscape in decline – and a surprisingly fast rebound. It’s a story that played out in the Kawuneeche Valley recently on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.” Listen here.

“While casual visitors might not know it, Kawuneeche Valley on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park was once a winding, damp and biologically diverse wetland populated by an estimated 600 beavers.” Read the story here.

“The Kawuneeche Valley Restoration Collaborative is a coalition that includes the National Park Service, Grand County and numerous other partners who are actively working to bring back the beavers to Kawuneeche Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park.” Read the story here.

“A watershed can be simply described as a place where liquid flows downhill, but it is more accurately defined as a complex system of soil, rocks, plants, and animals…” Watch here.

“The Kawuneeche Valley is a picturesque swath of meadow and forest, some 15 miles long, that runs along the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. Through its heart flow the headwaters of the Colorado River, lifeblood of the American West, so diminutive this early in its 1,450-mile journey that, in many spots, you could wade it with ease.” Read the story here.

“On the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park lies the Kawuneeche Valley, nestled between the Never Summer mountains and the Front Range.” Read the story here.

“The month was bookended with presentations about the Kawuneeche Valley Ecosystem Restoration Collaborative. The first was in late May at the State of the River, an annual update on the Colorado River.” Read the story here.

“The gate on the ten-foot-tall fence opened easily, and inside the wire exclosure was a tall willow forest.” Read the story here.

“On Saturday, July 23, Rocky Mountain National Park along with five other core organizations held a Community Outreach Day to highlight a new collaborative to help improve the ecosystem in Kawuneeche Valley.” Read the story here.

“The Kawuneeche Valley Ecosystem Restoration Collaborative is holding a public outreach event on Saturday, July 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to inform community members and visitors to Grand County and Rocky Mountain National Park about ecosystem impacts and proposed restoration efforts in the area.” Read the story here.

“The hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit the Kawuneeche Valley of Rocky Mountain National Park each year enjoy the valley’s picturesque meadows and forests beside the winding Colorado River, with elk and moose abundant.” Read the story here.