To: Colorado Watershed Assembly (Healthy Rivers Fund) From: Middle Colorado Watershed Council Date: December 1, 2020 Final Report: Colorado River Interpretive Center Planning Project (River Stop) Middle Colorado Watershed Council (MCWC) recently completed the Colorado River Interpretive Center Planning Project with the opening of “River Stop” in August 2020. River Stop is an exploration and collaboration space focused on Colorado River functions, themes, and issues.
Background Middle Colorado Watershed Council (MCWC) consists of a diverse set of stakeholders, representing municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, environmental, land management, and educational interests, that live and operate within the Middle Colorado River watershed (i.e. the Colorado River between Glenwood Canyon and De Beque Canyon). MCWC’s mission is to evaluate, protect and enhance the health of the Middle Colorado River watershed through the cooperative effort of watershed stakeholders. MCWC received a Colorado Water Plan Education and Innovation Grant in 2018 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop an interpretive center at the Rifle Rest Area for educating the public on the Colorado River and its value to the residents of Colorado. Now called “River Stop,” the facility introduces themes and stories about the watershed, connects people emotionally to the river, and visitors leave with new knowledge that can invoke stewardship, change behaviors, and inform decision-making. The interpretive center highlights basin-wide Colorado River functions, themes, and issues as described in the Colorado’s Water Plan and focuses on local river-related issues that can be visually explored in the immediate environs. River Stop is positioned to become an anchor feature in Rifle’s river corridor, acting as a destination that will connect locals and visitors to the town and the greater watershed community. MCWC has partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to offer targeted programming such as field trips for students, skills workshops, and interactive educational opportunities. Because of River Stop’s immediate proximity to the Colorado River and adjacent ponds with inter- connecting walking trails, visitors have good access to hands-on learning opportunities related to riparian habitat, aquatic invertebrates, water-dependent wildlife, river morphology, and more. River Stop will also be utilized for meetings and events related to watershed education and water resources. Informal visits by locals and travelers are another important aspect of River Stop’s educational strategy, and the location off of I-70 at Exit 90 at the Rifle Rest Area enhances this objective. The project was divided into five tasks with five objectives. These are described in the Activities and Accomplishments sections below.
MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
Activities Tasks 1, 2, and 3 were completed during an earlier phase of the project, prior to MCWC’s application for the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund grant. Task 1 was to identify the target audience and determine the priority themes and messages for the River Stop. Task 2 was to develop a framework for programming at River Stop. Task 3 was to transform the selected set of priority themes and messages into prototype displays. A functional interior layout for the building was developed to illustrate the positioning and connections between various elements. An exhibit design consultant, Masumi Shibata Designs, was procured for implementation of Tasks 2, 3, and 4.
Task 4 was the primary focus of the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund grant. This task included interior renovation, wall construction, lighting installation, and exhibit component production and installation. In late 2019 MCWC began to develop the framework for exhibits and then creating the exhibit content (Tasks 2 and 3). In January 2020 we began construction by removing non- structural columns and a partition wall, then constructed a false wall to hold the transparent river cross section (see photos below). Next, MCWC and the designer coordinated signage integration, exhibit production, fabrication, and installation. LED exhibit and area lights were added to illuminate the space, and an exterior sign was installed near the entrance. After fine tuning exhibits and a deep cleaning, River Stop construction was completed in late July 2020. Licensed contractors were used for construction and electrical work, and specialty vendors were contracted for fabrication and installation of 3-dimensional exhibit elements and signage.
Task 5 is ongoing – the task is to work with local partners and schools to create river and water- related events and educational opportunities at the center. An agreement is in place with CPW to provide and sustain educational programs for youth and adults. Accomplishments and Obstacles MCWC and our partners accomplished each of the five project objectives:
Objective 1 was to engage community educators as partners in the development of the River Stop to align our missions to evaluate, protect, and enhance the Middle Colorado River watershed through the cooperative efforts of diverse stakeholders. MCWC worked closely with community educators throughout the design and development of River Stop, including several subject matter experts who helped to determine key themes and write text for signage. MCWC also worked with project stakeholders, including CPW and City of Rifle, on planning and community involvement.
Objective 2 was to design an appropriate presentation strategy to create and install educational displays to highlight basin-wide Colorado River functions, themes, and issues, as well as focusing on local river-related issues that can be visually explored in the immediate environs. River Stop’s exhibits are informative, intuitive, and artful. The exhibits bring the surrounding environs inside the building for closer inspection – concise text and graphics ask the viewer to consider their surroundings and the river-related issues in this reach. Exhibits involve a broad scope of MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
watershed topics, including local and regional water features; major uses of water; water management and water rights; native and invasive species and ecosystems; endangered fish; macroinvertebrates; and fisheries. Visitors are encouraged to walk outside to experience the walking paths, riparian corridor, ponds, and Colorado River surrounding River Stop. Renovation of the interior and construction of the exhibits at River Stop went relatively smoothly. The most significant obstacle was efficiently scheduling several subcontractors for sequential construction work and scheduling time with volunteer content contributors (including MCWC). The timeline for exhibit development and construction was extended 2 months overall, but in the end our exhibits are very high quality and we’re happy we took the extra time. COVID-19 was a relatively less significant obstacle for the exhibit installation due to the exhibit contractor’s small size (2 people), breadth of expertise (fewer subcontractors required), and schedule flexibility.
Objective 3 was to host community events at the center including our annual River Restoration, meeting places for river projects, to serve as a hub for the River Watch program, and future use for presentations regarding water health and river seminars. The initial community event was a limited (invite-only) opening on August 11, 2020, and was attended by local city and county representatives, CPW, and representatives of select donors (see this article in Glenwood Post Independent: https://www.postindependent.com/news/lions-park-interpretive-center-is-complete/). The primary obstacle to hosting events at River Stop has been the impact of COVID-19. Due to public health guidance on community gatherings and our concern for volunteers and the community, MCWC opted to limit events held at River Stop. MCWC adapted our annual River Restoration event (traditionally based at River Stop) to a socially-distanced “Trick or Treat for Trash” on Halloween this year. MCWC looks forward to hosting additional openings, tours, and a variety of community events when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Objective 4 was to engage local school districts by providing access to before and after school programming that will focus on educating students on aquatic invertebrates, water-dependent wildlife, and native and invasive species. Objective 5 was to maintain accessibility for the public by capturing the attention of local residents and visitors, regional schools and other constituent groups to increase awareness of issues facing the health of the Colorado River. The primary obstacle to programming and operations at River Stop has been the impact of COVID-19. MCWC decided, in coordination with CPW, to not open the doors at River Stop while COVID-19 was a threat to CPW staff and other volunteers. However, we were able to host meaningful programming designed for smaller groups. CPW did an excellent job designing these smaller-group activities, and maintained a full-time presence at River Stop from June through November 2020. During that time, CPW partnered with the local school district, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, a youth group, and a city recreation department to hold more than 40 scheduled small group events. These sessions provided fun activities with an educational focus on Colorado River ecosystems and river issues such as aquatic invertebrates, water-dependent wildlife, and native and invasive species. Between scheduled events and roving interpretation programs, CPW staff provided more than 85 hours of free educational programming from November 2019 to MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
September 2020. CPW has secured funding to maintain staff at River Stop staff for another two years and we intend to keep our partnership going well into the future. A safe operating plan for general visitor access is under development and will be in place before River Stop opens to the general public. We will continue to overcome COVID-related obstacles through diligent planning, implementation of public health best practices, and support from our partners. Funding This project was made possible by grant funding, private and corporate donors, and in-kind contributions. Funding sources for this project included the Colorado Healthy Rivers Foundation grant ($20,000); Colorado Water Conservation Board ($47,400); CPW ($6,750); Chevron ($5,000), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ($5,000); private foundation ($3,800); Colorado Basin Roundtable ($3,000); private donors ($1,200); and in-kind donations ($20,000+). All matching commitments have been fulfilled. MCWC appreciates the in-kind contributions from CPW (for staff), the City of Rifle (for use of the rest area building and staff time), and numerous individual subject matter experts who contributed to content and signage development. The project was managed by the MCWC Board of Directors. In addition to serving as a free educational resource to travelers and the local community, River Stop will serve as a place to hold meetings and events, including fundraisers, in the future. Funds raised would help offset utility and maintenance costs and eventually additional content or exhibits.
MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
Photos The following photograph shows the facility during interior demolition:
And these photos show the completed facility and exhibits:
MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829
Thank you for your support of this project – MCWC looks forward to working with the Colorado Watershed Assembly in the years to come!
MIDDLE COLORADO WATERSHED COUNCIL | 200 LIONS PARK CIRCLE, RIFLE, CO 81650 [email protected] | 970-625-1829