Our citizen science work in the Colorado River basin stretches from the river’s source in Wind River Range in Wyoming down to the Colorado River Delta and into the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.   We have teamed up with the Colorado College State of the Rockies team which is traveling down the Colorado River this summer.  And from the Expedition’s website, their objectives are simply put:

“In June 2012, four adventurers will start at the headwaters of the upper Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park and head downstream for at least two months. While on the river, we will take video and photographs, interview basin stakeholders, and record water quality data. Working with partners in the Marine Ventures Foundation, the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project, and the river conservation group, Below the Surface (Outside Magazine’s 2012 “readers of the year”), we will create a robust geographical overview of Colorado River basin.

The centerpiece of the expedition will be an interactive map of the Colorado River Basin. As we travel downstream, we will post the stories we collect to this map. Throughout the summer, a team of researchers at Colorado College will also be posting analyses of river issues, so anyone tuning in to the expedition can learn about the Colorado through our personal narrative, interviews, and objective research.

The goal of the project is to make the voices of various stakeholders and “river experts” heard, as well as providing a virtual tour of the Colorado River through narratives, photographs, videos, and scientific research. Join us this summer to hear our stories from the river.”

Source: Down the Colorado River website.

We have also been working in Mexico where the Colorado River crosses the border South of Yuma, AZ.  Our partners there are the Sonoran Institute and Pro Natura and they both have decades of experience working there.  The centerpiece of their work is restoration of  selected regions of the Delta that have the largest impact on biodiversity and cultural heritage.  You can learn more about their restoration work here. We produced a short documentary on the issues about restoration, the native people and the power of the partnership between Sonoran and Pro Natura.