Protecting and restoring watersheds since 2005
Science + Community
Left Hand Watershed Center protects and restores watersheds for people and the environment using a collaborative and science-based approach.
We are a stakeholder driven, non-profit organization located in Boulder County, Colorado that values science and community. We used sound science to monitor, assess, and manage our watersheds. We use data to plan and implement on-the-ground forest and river restoration projects. We strive to build a strong stewardship ethic in our community through place-based and participatory learning.
View the Left Hand Watershed Center 2020 Annual Report
Upcoming Community Science Opportunity!
Catch the Hatch returns this summer!
Join our Catch the Hatch team this summer from June 15- July 15. Record data on mayfly emergence and creek temperature at specific creek locations in the St. Vrain Basin. Becoming a data catcher means you will train with scientists and make observations on your own schedule!
Currents
St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership
Adaptive Restoration Project
Captain Jack Superfund Site
Our Work
Learn more about how we protect and restore Front Range watershed health.
Adaptively Manage Watersheds
We use science-based adaptive management to monitor and manage watershed health from the upland forests to the urban corridor.
Engage Community
We are building a community-wide stewardship ethic rooted in watershed science through place-based and participatory learning.
Restore Forests
We are leading a diverse partnership to address post-fire recovery and restoration, as well as landscape-scale forest health planning.
Restore Rivers
We plan and implement on-the-ground projects that advance watershed restoration practices and incorporate climate change scenarios.
Watershed Insights
Lefthand Watershed in History
FIRST IN TIME, FIRST IN RIGHT--
Colorado’s First Inter-basin Water Transfer and the Coffin versus Left Hand Ditch Water Case
How did an 1879 water conflict in the Left Hand Creek headwaters come to influence water law in nine western states?
CAPTAIN JACK SUPERFUND SITE
and Left Hand Creek’s Legacy of Mining
Following the discovery of gold in Denver in 1859, it did not take long for miners to work their way up the creeks into the mountains, panning for gold and searching for the veins from which the nuggets came.
haystack:
is it a Volcano?
Standing rather proudly in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains along the front range of Northern Colorado is a very unique little mountain affectionately known as Haystack Mountain, earning its name by the early dairy farmers who settled on its flanks.