Grand Valley River Corridor
Master Plan
The Colorado River—and its connection with the Gunnison—shapes the land, communities, and way of life across the Grand Valley. The river nourishes our farms and ranches, supports local businesses, provides habitat for wildlife, and offers endless opportunities for recreation and gathering.
WHY A MASTER PLAN?
The Grand Valley River Corridor Master Plan is a shared vision for the river’s future—a roadmap that will guide stewardship, investment, and growth while respecting local control over zoning and development. It will outline strategies for recreation, natural resource protection, land use, and education to ensure the river remains both a treasured community asset and a resilient natural resource.
The Master Plan is about good stewardship: preserving what makes the valley strong, while creating new opportunities for access, recreation, and economic vitality. At every step, local voices and community values will remain central to the process.
Over the next 15 months, a collaborative and data-driven process will be essential to developing a Master Plan that reflects regional values and advances long-term environmental, economic, and cultural resilience.
Planning Background:
The Town of Palisade, City of Grand Junction, City of Fruita, and Mesa County came together in late 2023 to collaborate on a river Planning Framework and agreement on next steps for the river corridor.
For months, representatives from across the valley worked together to identify challenges, assets, and community values, learn from peer city examples, and confirm the principles that will guide the future of the river corridor. The group focused on the guiding question: Where do we want to be in 20-30 years?
The Planning Framework process concluded with Memorandums of Understanding among the jurisdictions to support the development of a Master Plan for the Grand Valley River Corridor. The effort was successfully funded through state grants with support from the jurisdictions.
Vision
The communities of the Grand Valley are committed to a data-driven approach to steward a resilient, vibrant, and healthy river corridor that supports agriculture, habitat and wildlife, recreation, economic growth and sustainable development benefiting today and future generations.
The Grand Valley River Vision was reviewed and finalized by the RCI Advisory Council
Goals
Economic Vitality: Activation, economic development, and housing supply along the river are important aspects of the river’s edge.
Natural Character: Open space, viewsheds, and natural environment along the river should be integrated with river’s edge and influence development decisions (not a commercialized strip).
Education & Awareness: Increased education, engagement, and awareness of all aspects of river health and use is important.
Ecological Health: Ecological health, riparian habitat, and aquatic species are top priorities.
Recreation as a Community Asset: The river is a recreational asset and public amenity; recreational use in and along, and recreational use “because” of the river.
Mobility & Access: The river is a spine; trail connectivity along the river and increased access to the river is critical.
eNGAGeMENT:
To ensure the Master Plan reflects local values and priorities, the project team plans to meet with stakeholders throughout the process and continue to work with the jurisdictions. Watch for information about upcoming educational opportunities and pop-up events in the community!
