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    • Colorado Wetland Assessment Projects
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Funding and Technical Support

Volunteer restoration work in Wolf Creek, 2012.
Volunteer restoration work in Wolf Creek, 2012.
Volunteer restoration work in Wolf Creek, 2012.
Volunteer restoration work in Wolf Creek, 2012.
Wolf Creek in 2016, four years after restoration.
Wolf Creek in 2016, four years after restoration.

Click a link below for details.

  • Funding for Wetland and Stream Conservation and Restoration
  • General Watershed and Habitat Restoration funding
  • Invasive Species Control and Management
  • Statewide, Regional, or Basin-wide Water Work
  • Water Quality
  • Wildlife Habitat
  • Wetland Conservation on Working Lands
  • Getting Involved in Wetland Conservation and Restoration
  • Watershed Groups by River Basin

Funding for Wetland and Stream Conservation and Restoration

Depending on the objectives of your restoration project, you may be eligible for a variety of funding opportunities at the state and national level. We’ve provided a list of wetland and watershed restoration and conservation funding opportunities in Colorado, grouped by types of project objectives and eligibility. Please also see a list of nonprofit organizations and watershed groups below, many of which provide funding and/or technical support for wetland-related work.


General Watershed and Habitat Restoration Funding

View of the upper Arkansas River valley from the summit of Mt. Princeton. Sarah Marshall, CNHP.
View of the upper Arkansas River valley from the summit of Mt. Princeton. Sarah Marshall, CNHP.
  • Colorado Water Conservation Board Watershed Restoration Grant Program
  • Great Outdoors Colorado Habitat Restoration Grants
  • The Colorado Watershed Assembly maintains a list of funding opportunities, including many sources specific to wetland and stream habitat restoration.
  • RiversEdge West (formerly the Tamarisk Coalition) maintains a searchable Funding Opportunities database.
  • Colorado Water Conservation Board Healthy Rivers Fund Grants - specific to local watershed group applicants.
  • Interested in starting your own water fund, or being part of a water fund where downstream water users help support upstream restoration to benefit water quality and quantity? The Peaks to People Water Fund has Resources for Building Water Funds.

Invasive Species Control and Management

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Tamarisk growing along the Colorado River, Erich Mueller, USGS 2014
Tamarisk growing along the Colorado River. Erich Mueller, USGS.
  • Colorado Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Grants

 

 


Statewide, Regional, or Basin-wide Water Work

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High elevation wetland in the Sangre de Cristo Moutains. CNHP Staff.
High elevation wetland in the Sangre de Cristo Moutains. CNHP Staff.
  • The Colorado Water Conservation Board Non-Reimbursable Project Investment Grant Program provides limited funding for water projects with statewide impact.
  • Colorado's Water Plan Grant Fund provides funding to implement various aspects of Colorado's Water Plan. Please see the website for funding categories.

Water Quality

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  • The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Nonpoint Source Funding Opportunities provide support for projects that reduce nonpoint, or diffuse, sources of pollution.
Collecting water quality samples from a Great Plains playa. Joanna Lemly, CNHP.
Collecting water quality samples from a Great Plains playa. Joanna Lemly, CNHP.

Wildlife Habitat

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Cinnamon Teal by Tom Koerner, USFWS
Cinnamon Teal. Tom Koerner, USFWS
Bear track in sediment along a stream near Kremmling, CO. Sarah Marshall, CNHP.
Bear track in sediment along a stream near Kremmling, CO. Sarah Marshall, CNHP.
  • The Colorado Parks & Wildlife Wetlands for Wildlife Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program to protect wetlands and wetland-dependent wildlife on public and private land. The program provides funding for 1) wetland and riparian creation, restoration, and enhancement; 2) conservation easements and fee-title purchase; 3) wildlife and aquatic resource inventories; 4) education and outreach; and 5) project monitoring and evaluation.
  • The Colorado Water Conservation Board Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund Grant Program provides funding for water diversion, delivery, or storage facility project operators and the CWCB to make water structures more compatible with fish and wildlife needs.

Wetland Conservation on Working Lands

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Many of the funding opportunities listed above apply to working lands, but the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (formerly the Wetlands Reserve Program) is a voluntary conservation easement program specifically for farmers and ranchers who wish to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their land. The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service provides landowners with technical and financial assistance for wetland easements, which can be established in perpetuity, or for shorter periods of time.

 

Pelicans using a Colorado farm wetland restored under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. USFWS staff.
Pelicans using a Colorado farm wetland restored under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. USFWS staff.

Getting Involved in Wetland Conservation and Restoration

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Looking for help with your restoration project, or interested in learning and volunteer opportunities related to wetlands and streams? We've provided a list of state, national, and regional organizations who are actively involved in conserving and restoring wetlands and streams in Colorado.

 

SWSRockyMountainChapterLogo
PLJVLogo
Colorado Ducks Unlimited Logo
Audubon Rockies Logo.
IWJVLogo
USFWSPartnersforFishandWildlifeLogo
BCR Logo.
TNCColoradoLogo
SocietyforEcologicalRestorationCRChapterLogo
WRVLogo
Colorado Watershed Assembly Logo.
Colorado Water Trust Logo
Colorado Riparian Association Logo
Colorado Trout Unlimited Logo
WaterEducationColoradoLogo

Land Trusts

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Land trusts play a critical role in helping landowners with voluntary land conservation across Colorado, including wetlands and riparian areas surrounding streams. The Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts maintains a statewide list of land trusts, with contact information.


Watershed Groups by River Basin

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The Colorado Watershed Assembly maintains an online watershed group directory that allows users to see a growing list of watershed groups and soil conservation districts in each of the major river basins across the state.

Do you have a funding opportunity or organization that should be added to this page? Please contact Sarah Marshall.

Working in Wetlands

Overview
Conservation
Restoration
Regulation
Best Management Practices
Funding and Technical Support

Related Topics

Wetland Reports
PCA Reports
County Survey Reports
Field Guides and App
Field Manuals
Educational Resources
Watershed Toolbox

Web Projects

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  • COMaP - Colorado Protected Lands
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  • About CWIC
    ▼
    • What Are Wetlands?
    • Why Are Wetlands Important?
    • Colorado Wetland Plan
    • Wetland Partners
  • Wetland Types
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Systems
    • Natural Plant Communities
    • Field Guides and App
    • Fen Mapping
  • Wetland Condition
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Condition
    • Habitat Quality
    • Biodiversity Significance
    • Colorado Wetland Assessment Projects
    • National Wetland Condition Assessment
    • BLM Assessment Inventory and Monitoring
  • Working in Wetlands
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Conservation
    • Restoration
    • Regulation
    • Best Management Practices
    • Funding and Technical Support
  • Data & Tools
    ▼
    • Wetlands Mapper
    • Floristic Quality Calculator
    • Landscape Summaries
    • Watershed Toolbox
    • Wetland Plots Database
  • Library
    ▼
    • Wetland Reports
    • Potential Conservation Areas
    • County Survey Reports
    • Field Guides and App
    • Field Manuals
    • Educational Resources
  • CNHP Home
  • About CWIC
    ▼
    • What Are Wetlands?
    • Why Are Wetlands Important?
    • Colorado Wetland Plan
    • Wetland Partners
  • Wetland Types
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Systems
    • Natural Plant Communities
    • Field Guides and App
    • Fen Mapping
  • Wetland Condition
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Condition
    • Habitat Quality
    • Biodiversity Significance
    • Colorado Wetland Assessment Projects
    • National Wetland Condition Assessment
    • BLM Assessment Inventory and Monitoring
  • Working in Wetlands
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Conservation
    • Restoration
    • Regulation
    • Best Management Practices
    • Funding and Technical Support
  • Data & Tools
    ▼
    • Wetlands Mapper
    • Floristic Quality Calculator
    • Landscape Summaries
    • Watershed Toolbox
    • Wetland Plots Database
  • Library
    ▼
    • Wetland Reports
    • Potential Conservation Areas
    • County Survey Reports
    • Field Guides and App
    • Field Manuals
    • Educational Resources
  • CNHP Home
  • About CWIC
    ▼
    • What Are Wetlands?
    • Why Are Wetlands Important?
    • Colorado Wetland Plan
    • Wetland Partners
  • Wetland Types
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Systems
    • Natural Plant Communities
    • Field Guides and App
    • Fen Mapping
  • Wetland Condition
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Ecological Condition
    • Habitat Quality
    • Biodiversity Significance
    • Colorado Wetland Assessment Projects
    • National Wetland Condition Assessment
    • BLM Assessment Inventory and Monitoring
  • Working in Wetlands
    ▼
    • Overview
    • Conservation
    • Restoration
    • Regulation
    • Best Management Practices
    • Funding and Technical Support
  • Data & Tools
    ▼
    • Wetlands Mapper
    • Floristic Quality Calculator
    • Landscape Summaries
    • Watershed Toolbox
    • Wetland Plots Database
  • Library
    ▼
    • Wetland Reports
    • Potential Conservation Areas
    • County Survey Reports
    • Field Guides and App
    • Field Manuals
    • Educational Resources
  • CNHP Home