What We Do

Grand County Learning By Doing's  Cooperative Effort relies on the Grand County Stream Management Plan (GCSMP) as a guide for project selection and as a source of comprehensive data on stream health in Grand County. The GCSMP identifies and ranks opportunities for stream restoration and provides recommendations on monitoring sites and parameters based on years of data collection and analysis in the field. The Learning By Doing Committee selects projects based on recommendations from the GCSMP, available resources, involvement of affected landowners and other considerations.
Download our guidelines for public/private partnerships here.

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Our success is measured by our projects.

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Current LBD Projects

Fraser Flats River Habit Project

The Fraser Flats River Habitat Project is one of the Grand County Learning By Doing team's first collaborative projects. Fraser Flats is a public-private partnership to maximize efficiencies and benefit river health. Revegetation efforts with 150 volunteers took place in spring 2017 and river construction wrapped up in the fall.  On May 16, 2018, a dedication ceremony marked the opening of a 0.4-mile public section for fishing.
​View the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s video of the revegetation efforts here.
Results of 2017 Fraser Flats monitoring can be found here.

Stream sampling

​Learning By Doing sponsors annual sampling of spawning bars and stream beds in 6 locations in the Fraser River, Ranch Creek, and Colorado River to monitor stream health and provide valuable data. Results from sampling inform decisions around what actions are needed to maintain or improve the health of the aquatic environment in the Fraser and Colorado river basins. The data is also used to assess the effectiveness of the Fraser River sediment pond on downstream habitat quality, and evaluate the quality of trout spawning habitat. Studies evaluate macroinvertebrate and fish population data in collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Grand County Water Information Network, providing a comprehensive assessment of Grand County's aquatic environment.

Sediment ponds being excavated. Photo courtesy of Denver Water

Stream sampling on the Fraser River. Photo courtesy of Tetra Tech

Fraser River sediment ponds

A joint project with the Colorado Department of Transportation have partnered to remove traction sand used along Highway 40  from the Fraser River. Using diversion ponds, they trapped the sand and let it settle. In 2018, CDOT hauled off some 290 tons of sediment. The project improved water quality and aquatic habitat. Monitoring downstream of the sediment pond shows significant habitat improvement.
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