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Building ConseM'ation Partnerships on the Yampa River Jamie Williams If what I am about to say echoes what you just heard from Phil Huffman, it may have something to do with the fact that I spent three years working with him on the Farmington River. While the specifics of my current work on the Yampa River in Northwest Colorado are quite different from the Farmington, the process is remarkably similar. At the heart of that approach lies the collaborative process so important to protecting rivers in a manner that is consistent with the needs of local communities and private landowners. Like many others, The Nature Conservancy is moving away from protecting small, remnant islands of rare and endangered species to conserving large, landscape-scale ecosystems. This change was brought about by a recognition that to preserve unique species and habitats one has to protect the larger ecological processes supporting those elements. As a result, the Conservancy is expanding on its existing land acquisition emphasis to include various ways of assisting others in the conservation of key natural resources. Developing cornmunity- based programs that focus on establishing compatible economic uses is the cornerstone to making these larger, partnership projects succeed. The Conservancy's effort to conserve the Yampa River in Northwest Colorado is one of the flagships of this new approach. Yampa River Program The Nature Conservancy considers the Yampa one of the most biologically significant river systems remaining in Colorado. Along with the San Miguel, it is one of the few major tributaries to the Colorado River with its hydrological processes relatively intact (e.g. few dams). Unlike many other rivers in the basin, the Yampa continues to be characterized by heavy late-spring flooding, a process critically linked to the diversity of the river's aquatic and riparian communities. The Yampa has several globally rare riparian plant communities and fish species, but the real signifIcance of the river lies in the fact that it continues to be well functioning. Cottonwoods continue to regenerate on the river's flood-scoured gravel bars and Colorado River Squawfish continue to spawn in the river's lower reaches. While the Conservancy is working to ensure adequate instrearn flow protection (by assisting the Endangered Fish Recovery Program), I am here to talk about working with the local communities and private landowners along the Yampa to conserve the river's unique riparian communities. While the Yampa's headwaters and lowest reaches are federally owned, the majority (roughly 80 percent) of this 240 mile river is characterized by one of the most traditional and productive ranching communities in the West. In fact, at one time, this area was the largest cattle exporting regions in the country. As you would expect, the local communities are feverently opposed to government control and ownership. At the heart of this issue are concerns about losing their tax base and local rural families who for so long have constituted western culture. Wise Use proponents are active in this area, and were quick to jump on The Nature Conservancy when we arrived in the valley. The immediate fears of many local folks were that we would take over the river and turn it over to the feds. In the year and a half that we have been on the Yampa, we have turned the corner and are now conducting projects that have wide community support. Developing partnerships among diverse interest has been the key to moving this effort forward to protect this important river. I would like to review some of the key elements of that process. 1. Common Goal That Brings People To The Same Table The goal of this program is to conserve the Yampa River in a manner that supports the economic needs of those who depend on it. This is a goal that both traditional resources users and conservationists can unite under on the Yampa. While set-aside preserves have their purpose, the big strides in conserving the river are to be made in figuring out how to make different economic activities more compatible with the resources on which they depend. On the other side, resource users perceive environmental regulation to be one of their biggest threats, so