Historically, decision-making about river corridor land-use, habitat management, and water use across the Grand Valley has occurred over dozens of agencies and stakeholder groups without a cohesive, coordinated vision. To address this gap, RiversEdge West, One Riverfront, and the Ruth Hutchins Water Center at Colorado Mesa University created the River Corridor Initiative to help develop a unified community vision for the river corridor and identify activities to realize that vision.

 

In 2021, the Initiative gathered public input to develop a unified community vision for the river corridor and identify activities to realize that vision. Along with stakeholder outreach, the group conducted an initial assessment of the key issues affecting the river corridor, hosted stakeholder workshops, and recently received funding to carry out fluvial hazard zone mapping. Fluvial hazard zone mapping is used to identify lands most vulnerable to damaging high river flows. This mapping will identify specific areas within the watershed that are appropriate for future development and those that are appropriate for conservation.