Living with Beavers: The Future of our Rivers

Join Big Thompson Watershed Coalition for Living with Beavers: The Future of Our Rivers, a pub talk and panel discussion at Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project in Loveland, CO.

Beavers have long played an important role in shaping healthy river systems, but many rivers across the West have been simplified, disconnected from their floodplains, and altered by development, land use, and changing climate conditions. As Northern Colorado communities continue to face challenges related to drought, wildfire, flooding, water quality, and habitat loss, we need to think not only about restoring stream channels, but also about restoring the natural processes that help rivers and floodplains function.

This panel will bring together local restoration practitioners, municipal leaders, and researchers for a conversation about the future of our rivers and riverscapes. Panelists will discuss the role beavers play in stream systems, how low-tech process-based restoration is being used to improve watershed health, what it means to coexist with beavers in a changing landscape, and how these approaches can support more resilient rivers across the Northern Front Range.

Panelists include:

Ellen Wohl, Professor and Fluvial Geomorphology Researcher, CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources
Marin Oschmann, Riverscapes Program Manager, Big Thompson Watershed Coalition
Chris Carlson, Stormwater Manager, City of Loveland
Anna Cloud, Riverscape Restoration Program Manager, Larimer Conservation District

This free event is a chance to learn, ask questions, and engage in an important conversation about the future of our rivers in the Northern Front Range.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to support BTWC’s work through an opportunity drawing for BTWC swag and other prizes.

We are grateful to Breeze Thru Car Wash for sponsoring this event.