The Pad | Every Stay Gives Back

 

 

The PAD, in partnership with Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back certification, supports Blue River Watershed Group (BRWG) in Silverthorne, Colorado.

BRWG – Blue River Watershed Group

Mission:

The Blue River Watershed Group (BRWG) was founded in 2004 by a group of local community members who were passionate about protecting and preserving the health of the Blue River Basin. BRWG’s mission is to promote, protect, and restore a healthy Blue River watershed through cooperative community education, stewardship, and resource management. BRWG’s core focus is on the entire watershed, which drains an area of about 680 square miles covering all of Summit County and portions of Grand and Lake Counties.

Why is it important?

Over the years, BRWG has worked on several important stream restoration projects such as the Tenmile Creek stream restoration project that was completed in 2016 and enhanced floodplain connectivity, fish habitat quality, scenery, and wetlands function, and improved recreational opportunities and public access to the section of Tenmile Creek between the Conoco gas station and Copper Mountain. BRWG has also worked on watershed planning projects, including the Snake River Watershed Plan, and work on educating the community on the issues impacting our watershed. Currently, BRWG is developing an Integrated Water Management Plan that will help identify future projects that will improve the health of the watershed.

100% of donations to charity

 

Your positive impact – what does a $10 donation do?

Provide for 8 square feet of wetland creation. Wetlands serves as vital habitat, offers a natural wildfire barrier, and stores water at high elevation reducing evaporative losses while offering much needed late season flows.

More impact examples for every $10 donated:

  • Provide a cubic foot of river habitat restoration. River habitat restoration is beneficial throughout the entire food web promoting native fish productivity. Every foot counts in reaches disturbed by human activity and development.
  • Provide 25 square feet of erosion control fabric. Erosion control is vital along riparian corridors for outside bend bank stabilization in river restoration projects as the earth has been disturbed and is vulnerable to erosion during runoff.
  • Provide for 7 students to participate in hands-on river education for 1 hour of programming. Participants learn how they can positively impact the local river, conduct river surveys, learn about the natural systems and water cycles, actively restore river bank vegetation, and much more.
  • Provide for a 150 foot section of riverbank to be cleared of trash annually. Trash and invasive plants affect the health of the water chemistry and biotic cycles vital to the ecosystem as a whole.

How do they do it?

BRWG’s watershed restoration projects vary but generally involve the restoration of stream and floodplain functions, self-sustaining trout fisheries, and habitats that promote diversity of native wildlife. Another important component of their work surrounds providing education opportunities and restoration techniques for streams degraded by historic dredge mining. By restoring sensitive watersheds, BRWG is able to enhance public open space and opportunities for water and trail-based recreation activities.

How you can #TravelKindly and support BRWG:

  • A community impact contribution of $1 per night will go to Blue River Watershed Group to be reflected in the final guest bill
  • Become a member of BRWG and help them advocate for the health and conservation of our rivers and streams
  • Volunteer for a river cleanup or check out the BRWG calendar of events

Learn more about Blue River Watershed Group

Learn More about The PAD Silverthorne

Impact Reports Coming Soon

 

Learn more about Kind Traveler's Every Stay Gives Back community impact certification