Trout Unlimited Champions Plan to Reconnect Colorado River for the First Time Since 1985

A $2 million dollar grant from PepsiCo has breathed new life into the dream of reconnecting the Colorado River in the form of a mile-long channel that bypasses Windy Gap Reservoir. The new project would reconnect two sections of the river, improving fish movement to the migratory corridor.

“It’s a very generous contribution,” said Mely Whiting, the attorney for Trout Unlimited who has worked on the Colorado River Headwaters Connectivity Project for over ten years. “We are close. So close to a new mile of the Colorado River.”

According to the Colorado Sun, the reservoir has never been popular with recreationists and serves mainly as an impasse for the trout and cold-water fish species that need to migrate above its dam.

The Sun also noted that “The mile-long channel would restore consistent flows on the Upper Colorado River, create about 18 acres of new wetlands and restore about 50 acres of riverside habitat.”

Learn more about the restoration project, here!