By Bethany Howell, Director of Strategic Outreach & Engagement
This year has been a whirlwind of ups and downs, with many surprises that occasionally required some pivots. As the poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” CDA’s annual Insectary biocontrol trip was no exception.
For the past two years, the river trip has been a touchstone for outreach education about our Palisade Insectary and a chance to 
invite key decision makers, legislators, and people whose agencies have a profound impact on how we manage our watersheds to learn about and engage with this work.
Each year, CDA partners with the National Parks Service’s (NPS) resource stewardship and science program to offer a unique opportunity to travel through a rarely visited part of the Green River, a tributary of the Colorado that flows through the Dinosaur National Monument in the northwest part of the state. This year, with federal cuts looming, we knew a four-day trip through a national park was not possible. Instead, we pivoted to a shorter event on the Green’s sister, the Yampa river.
The Yampa and the Green meet just inside the Colorado border and flow together into the state of Utah to meet the Colorado River just south of Moab. All three rivers have experienced high infestations of invasive plant species that greatly impact the health of their riparian areas, wildlife, and agricultural water. One in particular has been the bane of the Yampa River - leafy spurge.
Lucky for us, and unluckily for the spurge, the CDA Insectary works in tandem with the National Parks Service to collect and distribute biocontrol agents in the form of leafy spurge flea beetles (genus Aphthona), which are released and monitored on leafy spurge sites in both the Yampa and Green River watersheds. The goal of this year’s trip was to release 5,000 leafy spurge beetles to their new home on the banks of the Yampa.
The trip’s participants came ready to unleash these unassuming agents of leafy spurge destruction. The rafters came from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, so each learned something new about the quiet power of biocontrol. Joining us on the trip were state legislators, non-profit and land trust representatives, ranchers, educational partners, volunteer raft guides, and youth leaders.
We started our journey the evening before, at the Yampa River State Park in Hayden, when the group spent time learning about the mission and work of the Insectary and National Parks Service over a hearty campsite meal.
The discussion continued the next morning as we boarded rafts to float down from the Yampa State Wildlife Area to the take out at Lowdy Simpson Park near Craig. Over the course of 12 river miles, there were stops for flea beetle releases and talks about the impacts of leafy spurge and other invasive species on waterways throughout Colorado.
Those who came finished the trip with a deeper understanding of the overall challenges and solutions facing landowners and natural resource stewardship.
Although this river trip was different than the one we expected to plan, it was still a fantastic collaboration of people who truly care about Colorado. It gave us a chance to learn about the incredible work of the Insectary and National Parks Service and enjoy time on the water, which is truly medicine for the soul in these uncertain circumstances.
And the Yampa did not disappoint. We watched pelicans fly in formation, beavers popping into bankside holes, bald eagles hovering above nests, and mergansers speeding across the waves, all while shaking out little cups of leafy spurge flea beetles with best wishes for a long and happy life.
Learn more about the leafy spurge in part two of this blog, coming soon.