A volunteer group promoting quality of life, and the
environment of the Lower Blue River Valley.
The Friends of the Lower Blue River are dedicated to sustaining and protecting the traditional agricultural character, promoting the safety of the residents, livestock and wildlife, and maintaining the environmental integrity of the Lower Blue River Valley through education, collaboration and community involvement.
To sustain and protect the traditional agricultural character, promote the safety of the residents, livestock and wildlife, and maintain the environmental integrity of the Lower Blue River Valley through education, collaboration and community involvement.
Friends of the Lower Blue River is committed to preserving the rich history of the Blue River Valley. Through grant support from the Summit Foundation, we have created this interactive tool that documents and takes you to key points of interest in the Valley. You will see photographs and read about those who came before us. Those who settled this pristine area of Summit and Grand Counties in the 1800’s and the relevance those sites have today. FOLBR invites you to take this journey on our website and discover the treasure, that truly is the Lower Blue River Valley.
Click Here to see History Story Map
Summit Valley Horse Center
Quikrete, the current owners of the Peak Materials operation in Silverthorne, has applied with the Summit County Planning Commission to extend its Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to mine aggregate for an additional 15 years. According to the application...The application proposes continuing operating with the same approved uses as the previous 30 years and does not request to change any of the operating conditions, or site plan as outlined in the previous CUP. No new structures are proposed. Quikrete requests that the new permit allows the continuation of the existing operations for the next 15 years. According to the application, Quikrete’s operational lease term with the landowner extends until 2057.
The key question is when Quikrete finally depletes aggregate at its Peak and Maryland Creek Ranch site, where will it go next for material? Peak, then owned by the Kilgore Company, proposed to mine gravel on 80 acres purchased by the company from Julie Hillyard for $4 million back in 2018.
At the February 25th Lower Blue River Stakeholders Meeting in Frisco, participants discussed current river conditions and the possibility of a coordinated Lower Blue River sustainability plan. The group reviewed hydrologic and snowpack conditions, fisheries and water quality monitoring updates, and ongoing projects, including the Blue Valley Ranch–BLM Land Exchange Project, as well as other conservation initiatives. The discussion also included the Green Mountain Reservoir put-in, safety considerations, and user survey needs. The meeting concluded with a conversation about ways to engage the community in a shared stewardship of the Lower Blue River.
Want to know more about noxious weeds and what to do about them? Click the link below and check out information provided by the Middle Park Conservation District.
https://www.middleparkcd.com/noxious-weeds-in-summit-county
Here's a preview:
List “A” Species
List A species are rare noxious weeds for which state-wide eradication is the goal. There are 2 List A species present in Summit County.
The FOLBR Board's Slate Creek Hall Committee is currently working to determine needed improvements to our historic structure. We have received numerous charitable donations targeting improvements and we thank all those committed to the effort.
For more than a century, Slate Creek Hall has been a gathering place for neighbors, ranching families, and the wider Lower Blue community. Today, the hall is in urgent need of restoration — and with your support, Friends of the Lower Blue River is kicking off a renovation initiative focused on a new roof and much more!
Historic Slate Creek Hall
The FOLBR Board's Slate Creek Hall Committee is currently working to determine needed improvements to our historic structure. We have received numerous charitable donations targeting improvements and we thank all those committed to the effort. This year’s fundraising priority is replacing the Slate Creek Hall roof and updating the portable restrooms. We are evaluating solutions to address persistent moisture and airflow issues caused by the existing roof system. Another area of discussion is improving the grounds around the Hall to enable parking and possible access to the river.
Loveland Pass
From Cory Reppenhagen: 9 News Meteorologist
As of Feb. 25, the snowpack in the Colorado mountains is still tied with the 2001-2002 winter for the worst on record. It's been in the statistical cellar for more than a month. This level of snowpack data first started getting measured in the winter of 1986-1987, so the worst in 39 years.
Snowpack is the measure of how much water is inside the snow that's accumulating at the headwaters of our major river systems high in the mountains.
The weather pattern has been somewhat active since Feb.10 and there have been slight gains. More snow is in the forecast. And the good news is that the pattern is expected to remain active through the middle of March. The bad news is that the snow forecast during that stretch is really only average. So, the chances of actually finishing the season at average or above is, while not impossible, extremely unlikely at this point.
From Earth.org
Last year tracks to be the joint-second hottest year on record, marking a continuation of the exceptionally high warming trend the world has witnessed in the past decade, according to the European Union’s Earth observation program.
In its December bulletin, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said this year is “virtually certain” to finish as either the second- or third-warmest year since records began around 1850. “The global average temperature anomaly for January to November 2025 stands at 0.60C above the 1991–2020 average, or 1.48C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial reference. These anomalies are identical to those recorded for the full year 2023, currently the second warmest year,” the bulletin read.
By Jennifer Yachnin
Water rights to the Colorado River are a notoriously valuable commodity: The flows support verdant agricultural lands in Southern California and Arizona, as well as major cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
So when the federal government needs to curb use on the 1,450-mile waterway, it has long opted to open up its checkbook and pay up — such as with a recent emergency effort to protect hydropower operations on the river, which cost the Biden administration $1.2 billion for a three-year deal.
But when Mother Nature cuts back on the supply at its source, it's a much different story. No water. No payments. No IOUs for next year.
That’s the argument of officials in the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, who say they are uniquely affected when lackluster winter snows create summers of hardship. And they argue that this reality should figure into the next long-term operating plan for the drought-stricken river. The seven states that share the Colorado River — which serves 40 million individuals and supports 5.5 million acres of farmland — are currently negotiating that agreement.
