Press Kit

Contact

Kyle Patterson, Management Specialist/Public Affairs Officer, Rocky Mountain National Park

(970) 586-1363 | Kyle_Patterson@nps.gov

About KVRC

In 2020, several entities came together to restore the Kawuneeche Valley, becoming the Kawuneeche Valley Restoration Collaborative (KVRC). KVRC is a collaborative of eight organizations:

  • Colorado State University

  • Grand County

  • National Park Service  – Rocky Mountain National Park

  • The Nature Conservancy

  • Northern Water

  • Rocky Mountain Conservancy

  • Town of Grand Lake

  • United States Forest Service – Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest

KVRC’s individual members may have projects or partnerships separate from the Collaborative. These individual efforts are distinct from KVRC's work.

Read more about KVRC, our partners, and our funders here.

Previous Coverage

  • “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.

  • “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.” Read the story here.

See other coverage here.

KVRC shares a quarterly newsletter with updates about our work. You can view our latest newsletters here.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Kawuneeche Valley extends from the high mountain passes of Rocky Mountain National Park to where the river meets Shadow Mountain Reservoir below the Town of Grand Lake, Colorado. Check out a map of the valley here.

  • The Kawuneeche Valley used to be dominated by dense stands of tall willows that supported beaver habitat and biodiverse wetlands throughout the valley. The wetlands were eight miles long and half a mile wide, and the ecosystem played a vital role in Colorado’s livelihoods, traditions, and water story. After a long history of human land uses, the Kawuneeche Valley struggles to sustain ecological functions. The river is disconnected from its floodplain, wetlands have dried up, and biodiversity is not thriving.

  • Riparian ecosystems like the Kawuneeche Valley provide essential benefits, including water purification, erosion control, flood and fire resilience, wildlife habitat, and places for people to enjoy nature. The Kawuneeche Valley’s water quality benefits are significant; the watershed provides drinking water to millions of people on both sides of the Continental Divide.

  • No, KVRC does not plan to reintroduce beavers. KVRC’s work is focused on reducing browse pressure on vegetation, raising the streambed and water table, and restoring the Valley’s native plant species. The Kawuneeche Valley was once a vibrant home for beavers, and the restored ecosystem is likely to replicate this habitat. Beavers may naturally migrate back into the valley as it becomes healthier, particularly as tall willows become available for forage and dam building. Natural migration has occurred at comparable sites in the region.

  • Some of the proposed restoration activities for the next decade and beyond include: 

    • Using fences to limit elk and moose from eating the surviving and planted willows, creating a safe space for beavers to potentially return.

    • Removing non-native plants that compete for the willows’ space.

    • Planting new willows and other riparian plants to restore native species.

    • Building simulated beaver structures to raise groundwater levels, trap sediment, and reconnect floodplains by spreading water near the river.

Additional FAQs available here.