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Speaker Series: Listen, discuss, and learn as we continue our series addressing issues of water conservation and river preservation to raise awareness among the community, water ecology experts, and decision makers.

Impacts on the Colorado River

Speakers: Matt Rice, Director of the Colorado River Basin Program at American Rivers, and Paul Bruchez, Rancher Owner, Reeder Creek Ranch in Kremmling, will discuss the most pressing issues we face in the Colorado River Basin and how the State of Colorado and Grand County, in particular, are advancing solutions for the environment and agriculture.

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Virtual Zoom Event Link

Matt Rice directs American Rivers’ multidisciplinary programs in the Colorado River Basin, a region that spans seven states from Wyoming to California. His team drives innovative policy, program, and project solutions to conserve water in the urban, agricultural, and energy sectors to ensure that the rivers and streams in the region are healthy for local and regional economies, sustainable agriculture, and world-class recreation. Previously, Matt has worked as a fly fishing guide in Montana, Colorado, Kentucky, and South Carolina. He also spent 4 years in Zambia working with rural farmers to integrate fish farming and irrigated agriculture into their farming systems. Matt completed his masters in Environmental Policy from the University of Denver. His research was focused on global water resources. He received his undergraduate degree from Montana State University in 2000. When not at work, he can be found with his three boys and a fly rod on a river somewhere in Colorado.

Paul Bruchez is 5th generation of the Bruchez family to farm and ranch in Colorado. He currently operates the family ranch near Kremmling with his brother and father. Paul and his family raise cattle and irrigate with water from the Colorado River, the Williams Fork River and Reeder Creek. After graduating from the University of Denver in 2003, he started a fly-fishing business to help diversify income. Working in agriculture and being a fishing guide has given Paul a unique perspective on water resources. Paul is currently spearheading a 12-mile restoration of the Colorado River with 12 landowners collaborating to sustain agriculture and the environmental health of the river. After participating with the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan, he was selected to be the voting Agriculture Representative to the Colorado Basin Roundtable in the spring of 2015. He serves as a Governor appointee to the InterBasin Compact Committee, is on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Water Trust, serves on the Grand County Open Lands, Rivers and Trails Advisory Committee, and recently was honored with Water Education Colorado’s Emerging Leader award.