Big Snow Dance 2017

The Big Snow Dance is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year Old Town Pub is hosting our event in downtown Steamboat Springs. Please join us by bidding on Silent Auction items and attending the party on Saturday, November 18th, to gather and celebrate with friends in support of the Yampa River. And if you want to bid from home in your PJs or from a land far far away, that is awesome too.

Friends of the Yampa strives to protect and enhance the environmental and recreational integrity of the Yampa River, its basin, and its tributaries through stewardship, advocacy, partnerships, and education. Guided by strong conservation principles as stewards of the river, the goals of Friends of the Yampa encompass three major areas: (1) Preserving flows; (2) Protecting and enhancing current and future river access through town; and (3) Playing a key role in the City of Steamboat Springs' Stream Management Plan.

A couple of exciting projects we are working on are the Little Yampa Canyon campsite revitalization and the Yampa Passage Project. The Little Yampa Canyon project is in partnership with the Little Snake BLM and Yampa River State Parks. This special stretch of river right in our backyard is a unique 27-mile flatwater run through BLM land that has been found suitable for "Wild and Scenic River" listing. The Little Yampa Canyon offers majestic flatwater boating opportunities, and has been recognized statewide and regionally for these characteristics. If you have not explored this little stretch of river yet, get out there and do it! You might be surprised at the beauty, the fishing, the wildlife, and the serenity that awaits you just around the corner. And by May 2018 you will have some great campsites in the canyon to enhance your experience.

The Yampa Passage Project was the brainchild of Jonathan Stauffer, a Friends of the Yampa Board Member who passed away suddenly last December. He had a vision of a project that would allow river enthusiasts to float unimpeded from the Catamount tailwater "without trespassing or dragging your boat over a hairball dam. Fish and raft all summer. Multi-Day floats!" Those are Jonathan's words and we'd like to make this happen by removing unnecessary structures that prevent passage down the Yampa.

Friends of the Yampa also hosts several river clean-ups each year, we promote responsible river stewardship through campaigns and education, we participate in the Yampa River Awareness Project, we premier local, national and international movies about rivers, and we participate in projects such as the Yampa River Systems Legacy Project and the Yampa/White/Green Basin Roundtables. In short, we are very active in our support of this gem of a natural resource in our local community and beyond, and these projects require funds to complete.

Friends of the Yampa is a community funded and community based organization that has a long history of recreation and stewardship in the Yampa Valley. We could not do what we do for this river we all know and love if it weren't for the help and support of people like YOU. Please consider purchasing a Silent Auction item, giving funds, or volunteering your time. Every little bit helps. Thanks!

PLEASE NOTE: We can ship items to you, if necessary. Shipping fees will be added on accordingly. This does not apply to all items.