Wyoming’s Muddy Creek is one of few habitats for Colorado River cutthroat trout, in addition to four other native fish. It provides water for local communities and local wildlife, including a greatly damaged beaver population. Trout Unlimited is working with Wyoming Game & Fish, the Bureau of Land Management, private land owners, and other partners to extend the beaver population throughout the creek.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Bill has allowed for a landscape level restoration project along the waterway, with staff and volunteers building beaver dam analogs. Dam analogs act as a starter kit for the beavers, providing them with locations and supplies to get things started. Additionally, Trout Unlimited has provided a youth program that brings kids out to the work sights, exposing them to a host of different potential career paths.
“For decades, TU and partners such as Wyoming Game and Fish, and the Bureau of Land Management, have been restoring vital habitat for Colorado River cutthroat trout in Muddy Creek, Wyoming. The basin is home to four native fish species and is a focus area for TU. Through a feat of Western water engineering, this Basin serves as both a headwater for the Upper Colorado River Basin and provides source water for the city of Cheyenne, which is outside the watershed.“