River Watch started with six schools in 1989 on the Yampa River. Since then, over 70,000 people have participated with 900 stations, and 400 water bodies on record. River Watch is the largest statewide volunteer monitoring program in the US, with over 4000 samples taken per year. Over 70% of the volunteers are school groups, with citizen groups, individuals, colleges, youth programs, government agencies, and non-profit organizations also volunteering. The goals of River Watch are:
