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Waterways in Colorado and across the arid West face increased threats from prolonged drought and other impacts of a changing climate, and a growing grassroots movement is using a low-tech sticks and stones restoration process to improve the health of rivers and streams.

Instead of using heavy machinery Ryan Messinger, project manager with the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, said workers use locally sourced natural materials to create a speed bump that slows down the flow of water.

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That work allows streams to reconnect with their floodplains over time.

"You haven’t really solved anything that day," said Messinger. "But after a few years, with nature interacting with what you’ve created, you’re giving nature the opportunity to restore itself."

Messinger said the speed bumps create thin, sheet-like flows, where water spreads out into meadows and soaks into the soil like a sponge. Water is then released throughout warmer months, which can help maintain levels critical for wildlife, agriculture and other users.

Streams and rivers used to operate this way on their own, with the help of beavers. But centuries of human activity have turned many waterways into fast-moving channels that dry up after snow melts.

Joseph Leonhard, riparian project manager with The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, said partnerships with private landowners and local groups in the White River and Yampa River basins are set to launch three projects in coming months to recharge groundwater, and help buffer communities from wildfires and floods.

He said slowing down water also allows vital riparian vegetation to expand into the floodplain.

"These little green ribbons that are running through a dry landscape can provide a lot of benefits for wildlife," said Leonhard. "And it also can provide better forage quality for any ranching operations that might be happening in the area."

The projects frequently hire local youth corps members, giving them hands-on conservation skills and an opportunity to build careers without leaving their hometowns.

Messinger said he expects to see big improvements as the work is scaled up.

"And that’s what I always tell our volunteers and our Youth Corps that come and work with us," said Messinger. "'The work that you’re doing, it’s important. Not only for the small area that you've just restored, but it’s part of a much grander series of projects that are going on that are creating resiliency throughout the West.'"