The Blue River starts up in the Ten Mile Range (which includes its highest peak, Quandary Peak).
It flows 65 miles, passing Breckenridge and Silverthorne, until it connects with the Colorado River in Kremmling. Some of its water will go to a trans-mountain diversion through the Roberts Tunnel to the South Platte River Basin for use on the Front Range. The water may also flow to the Green Mountain Dam to provide hydroelectric power or irrigation water for countless farms and ranches along the way. The valued water in the Blue River also provides for the communities of Breckenridge and Dillon.
In the early 2000’s, a local ranching couple with generations of history living alongside the Blue River just north of Silverthorne were retiring and selling the majority of their land, along with the water rights.
Scotty and Jeannette Moser donated much of their land to the Forest Service, and were glad it would stay protected from development. They had similar hopes for their water rights, to help keep their river protected.
Colorado Water Trust met with Scotty and Jeannette Moser and they shared their goals with us.
We looked into their water rights and researched needs on the river to make sure their rights were going to help the part of the river that needed water. It turned out it really would. In fact, the part of the stream their water rights were on was a prime fishery in need of boosted flows. We contacted the partners we would need, namely the Colorado Water Conservation Board, to help make this project possible. We navigated the rights through the complex legal system, and carried out the transaction to pay the Mosers fair market value for their water, and ensure it remained in the stream, heading west, in perpetuity. They were thrilled.
