By Rachel Spurrier, Administrative Coordinator, Colorado State University
Ryan Morrison (PI, Front Range Place-Based Collaborative) has received a grant with Colorado State University Associate Professor Yoichiro Kanno to study low-tech process based restoration (LTPBR) in Elkhorn Creek through a collaboration with the non-profit organization Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW). The CRPW has multiple community partners who may be involved, including the Larimer County Conservation Corps, Volunteers of Colorado, and Rocky Mountain Flycasters.
The project’s total funding is close to $500,000 and comes from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The project will help us better understand the impact of catchment-scale LTBPR on trout genetic diversity, aquatic habitat, and stream morphology in a vulnerable watershed along Colorado’s Front Range, with potential extensions to other riverscapes in the Mountain West. This collaboration between the CPRW and CSU researchers was developed in earnest thanks to support from the Transformation Network and its emphasis on community partnerships.
Brook trout population monitoring at Elkhorn Creek in northern Colorado during September 2025. (Photo by Rachel Spurrier)