News Release

Collaborative Kawuneeche Valley Ecosystem Restoration Efforts Highlighted July 23 in Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Lake

Exclosure in the Kawuneeche Valley with an external beaver dam.

Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park

News Release Date: July 13, 2022

Contact: Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer

Contact: Park Information Office, [phone]

The Kawuneeche Valley Ecosystem Restoration Collaborative (KVERC) 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.      

KVERC is a partnership comprised of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Grand County, Town of Grand Lake, Northern Water, Colorado River Water Conservation District, and The Nature Conservancy. KVERC is focused on ecological restoration to support the environmental well-being of the Kawuneeche Valley, located where the Colorado River headwaters flow through Rocky Mountain National Park and private lands and into Shadow Mountain Reservoir near the Town of Grand Lake. Its ecosystem is in transition, having changed dramatically throughout recent history. KVERC was formed to address ongoing environmental changes in the Kawuneechee Valley and is considering a variety of stream and wetland restoration projects on public and private lands. Critical funding support is being provided by Rocky Mountain Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy and Northern Water. 

KVERC Outreach Event Details:     
Booths will be set up at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park and at the Town Park in the community of Grand Lake, where visitors can meet with KVERC members to learn more about the initiative. Additionally, field tours of an existing restoration site in RMNP will be led by KVERC members on the hour (at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 p.m.) to highlight conditions inside and outside of elk and moose exclosure fencing. Interested field tour participants should park at the Holzwarth Historic Site parking lot and plan to hike approximately 0.8 miles on a dirt road and off trail across the Kawuneeche Valley meadow.     

Rocky Mountain National Park requires a timed entry permit to enter the park between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Participants can either enter the park before 9 a.m. to attend one of the hikes or obtain a permit through the Recreation.gov website. To visit the booths at Grand Lake or the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, no timed entry permit is required.     

For additional information, please visit KVERC’s website at www.co.grand.co.us/KVERC.    

For further information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at [phone].