Partnership drives ongoing habitat restoration in Muddy Creek watershed

(BLM Rawlins staff, Trout Unlimited, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps pose during restoration work in the Muddy Creek watershed near Rawlins, Wyo., June–July 2025. Photo by Patrick Lionberger, BLM Wyoming)

RAWLINS, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management Rawlins field office, in partnership with Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Conservation Corps and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, led a large-scale restoration effort this summer in the Muddy Creek watershed, an important tributary to the Colorado River system. 

During June and July, youth conservation crews installed 98 new beaver dam analogs (BDAs), repaired 40 existing structures, and built a large riparian exclosure to improve stream habitat. The work benefited a 14-mile stretch of Muddy Creek, located south of Rawlins, Wyoming. 

“Muddy Creek supports a diversity of fish and wildlife, including sensitive species such as Colorado River cutthroat trout, roundtail chub, bluehead sucker, and flannelmouth sucker,” said Patrick Lionberger, management and program analyst for the BLM High Desert District office. “The watershed is also critical for big game winter range, a mule deer migration corridor, and priority sagebrush habitat for greater-sage grouse.”  

Nick Walrath, Trout Unlimited Green River senior project manager, said the partnership was essential to the summer’s success. “At Muddy Creek this year, BLM and TU coordinated project planning and permitting to ensure successful hitches for both the Wyoming Conservation Corps and Rocky Mountain Conservation Corps,” he said. 

(BLM Rawlins staff, Trout Unlimited, and the Wyoming Conservation Corps pause for a group photo during habitat restoration in the Muddy Creek watershed near Rawlins, Wyo., June–July 2025. Photo by Patrick Lionberger, BLM Wyoming)

Historically, beavers shaped the Muddy Creek landscape with their dams, creating wet meadows and meandering streams. The decline of beavers led to stream downcutting, erosion, and reduced riparian habitat. BDAs, built from posts, willows, aspen, and sod, mimic beaver activity by raising water tables, improving water quality, and creating diverse habitat for fish and wildlife. 

“Muddy Creek is home to many iconic Wyoming species; these projects will benefit both the native fish and the wildlife,” Walrath said. “More water, higher in the system, will benefit the cutthroat trout, flannelmouth suckers, bluehead suckers, and roundtail chub. The increased riparian areas throughout the work areas will benefit mule deer, elk, sage grouse, and a host of waterfowl and other migrating birds.” 

Youth crews from the Wyoming Conservation Corps and the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps carried out the bulk of the construction. Local volunteers, including students from the Saratoga 4H chapter, also joined in. “The most important thing these groups bring is a willingness to learn and do hard work,” Lionberger said. “They leave knowing how to build BDAs and why they matter.” 

(Volunteers from the Wyoming Conservation Corps and Saratoga 4-H chapter joined BLM and Trout Unlimited staff in constructing beaver dam analogs in the Muddy Creek watershed near Rawlins, Wyo., July 2025. Local youth groups gained hands-on conservation experience during the project. Photo by Patrick Lionberger, BLM Wyoming)

Walrath noted that youth also gained valuable hands-on experience. “The youth gained valuable hands-on experience in stream restoration.” he said. “The youth crews got to build BDAs and get dirty. This work is hard but immediately rewarding, especially when they see the water level rise.” 

Early results from the restoration are already visible. “You see immediate changes,” Lionberger said. “Water depth increases, streambanks start soaking up moisture, and we’ve seen cutthroat trout swimming above a BDA minutes after construction. Sometimes beaver move in within days.” 

Walrath added, “Muddy Creek continues to be on the front lines of restoration. From native fish to mule deer, this working landscape is a testament to what great things can be done with partnerships.” 

(A restoration site in the Muddy Creek watershed near Rawlins, Wyo., is shown before and after work completed in June–July 2025. Crews installed nearly 100 beaver dam analogs and restored 14 miles of stream habitat. Photo by Patrick Lionberger, BLM Wyoming)

The Muddy Creek project is part of more than 30 years of coordinated conservation involving the BLM, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Little Snake River and Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation Districts, the Carbon County Weed and Pest District, Trout Unlimited, conservation organizations, and local landowners. Trout Unlimited has played a key role in conservation work in the watershed for two decades, and the BLM currently has a cooperative agreement with the group to complete several stream restoration projects. 

Future work will include spawning gravel augmentation, channel restoration, riparian plantings, and fish barrier removal. Monitoring will track soil moisture, water quality, and habitat diversity, with support from Trout Unlimited and the University of Wyoming. 

“This watershed is a management priority for the BLM,” Lionberger said. “These projects improve resources for fish, wildlife, livestock, and the public. None of it would be possible without the strong partnerships we’ve built.”