The Yampa River in northwestern Colorado is one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Colorado River Basin; providing irrigation water for agriculture, critical habitat for endangered fish, and immense riparian and recreational benefit in the region. During the summer, however, the Yampa is impacted by late-season low flows coupled with inefficient diversions for irrigation. The Maybell Ditch is a broken and antiquated irrigation diversion in need of restoration to remedy inefficiencies and reduce impacts to fisheries and recreation.

Constructing and modernizing irrigation infrastructure at the Maybell diversion will allow more flexibility in management through telemetered remote access to more easily control flows and meet irrigators' needs. Maybell Irrigation District, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Yampa, American Rivers, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and others will work together to seek public and private funding to support construction of the project by 2025.

Once completed, the project will help increase irrigation efficiency while meeting local and regional environmental and recreational needs. In particular, the project is anticipated to improve recreational passage for boaters and improve stream flows for four endangered fish species. The project will also benefit agricultural producers through easier and more precise operation of the headgate and efficiency improvements. Furthermore, the project was identified as a priority through regional planning efforts involving multiple stakeholders and regulatory agencies.