Funding Secured for 100% Design and Permitting on the Two Rivers Reach of the South Arkansas River Restoration Project in Salida, CO

The UAWP recently received notice that a Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Plan grant was awarded to Trout Unlimited to move our South Arkansas River Restoration Project (SARRP) from 60 to 100% design and permitting on the Two Rivers reach. Match funding will be provided by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Fishing is Fun grant program.

The Two Rivers reach includes 2,000 feet of the South Arkansas River directly upstream of the confluence with the mainstem Arkansas River. During this planning project, our contractor WaterVation LLC will refine our original 60% design and the UAWP will continue our collaborative work with a large stakeholder group, which includes 20+ private riverfront landowners, 30+ additional landowners, the City of Salida, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Division of Water Resources, and others.

Work on this reach will eventually include introducing structure to this structurally-starved reach in the form of large wood and rocks, improving fish and aquatic wildlife habitat by improving pool/riffle structure, reconnecting the river to the floodplain and potentially opening three short reaches the the public.

As always, our design and on the ground work will be sure to protect the water rights of upstream and downstream water users.

The Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Central Colorado Conservancy are the two organizations leading this project within the UAWP.

This section of the South Arkansas River has been straightened, is overly wide, shallow and lacks structure. This photo was taken in January 2026.