PRESS RELEASE: June 22/23, 50th Anniversary Celebration, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Cache la Poudre

For Immediate Release
June 11, 2018
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper, 970-218-8310

June 22/23, 50th Anniversary Celebration, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Cache la Poudre

Fort Collins: Toyota USA, the Waterkeeper Alliance, and Save The Poudre are joining together on June 22nd and 23rd to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with a SPLASH event. The celebration will be on the Cache la Poudre River, the ONLY Wild and Scenic River in the state of Colorado designated by an Act of Congress.

The celebration will feature:

June 22: Photography presentation by renowned Colorado nature photographer John Fielder featuring his photographs of beautiful rivers in Colorado, at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins at 7:00 pm (Information and tickets here).
June 23: Free half-day rafting on the Cache la Poudre River for 100 guests, including a free Save The Poudre t-shirt, funded by Toyota. The rafting trips will be hosted by Mountain Whitewater and Wanderlust, both long-term professional rafting companies on the Cache la Poudre.

“The Cache la Poudre is a beautiful river and we are lucky to have it here in northern Colorado,” said Gary Wockner, Director of Save The Poudre. “Please join the celebration to enjoy this Wild and Scenic River, and if you can’t join us, try to get out on the river as often as possible this summer.”

“Beyond our own water conservation and watershed protection activities, through this partnership we aim to drive awareness in the community about the importance of protecting our water resources,” said Kevin Butt, general manager of environmental sustainability, Toyota Motor North America. “The SPLASH series provides a fun way to contribute to water conservation projects and make a difference.”

“Engaging people with their local waterways is a crucial part of securing drinkable, fishable, swimmable water,” said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “The SPLASH Event Series strengthens connections between communities and waterways across the country. We thank Toyota for their commitment to the environment, clean water, and another great year of SPLASH.”

See more about the national Toyota/Waterkeeper SPLASH series here.

***end***

Hi Poudre River Lovers! We greatly appreciate your membership and support, and we are committed to fighting to protect the Poudre through 2019 and beyond. A few months ago, I got an email from another Poudre River Lover, Sue Pendell of Fort Collins, who wanted to meet and discuss a donation to Save The Poudre. At our meeting, Sue told me that for for 40 years she has enjoyed going to the Poudre River in Fort Collins and up in Poudre Canyon. Sue's not a kayaker or fisherperson -- she enjoys the peace and solitude and often takes a book along to read as she relaxes along the Poudre River. Sue has very generously donated $10,000 to Save The Poudre out of her retirement account to support our work to protect and restore the Poudre River! I told Sue that I’d like to tell all of you about her generous donation because it may inspire other people to give. Sue replied, “Oh, I’m just a regular person. Nobody knows me. I doubt if that will help you.” And I told Sue, “That’s exactly why I’d like to let our supporters know – you’re just a regular person, and that’s the story of Save The Poudre. We’re thousands of ‘regular people’ who want to protect the Poudre River through Fort Collins. In the spirit of Sue’s donation, our end-of-year fundraising goal is to match Sue’s $10,000. Can you join us and help match Sue’s love for a healthy, free-flowing Poudre River? Please renew your membership by clicking here: http://www.savethepoudre.org/take-action/donate/ Here’s an update on all of our work in 2018 and our plans for 2019: First, some really great news: We hired one of the best public-interest environmental law firms in the U.S. – Meyer, Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP – to coordinate the writing of our comments in to the Army Corps of Engineers for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the massive proposed river-draining dam project we’ve been fighting for 15 years, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). Having this great law firm on our team will ensure we are in the best place possible if and when litigation is needed in the future. We also hired a team of experienced scientists and analysts to review and comment on the FEIS – all of which was finalized on Oct. 4th. Your support helped make this happen! Second, we have heavily engaged to try and influence the City of Fort Collins and the State of Colorado in their roles of commenting on and permitting NISP. Good news -- the City of Fort Collins continued its “do not support” position on NISP. The State of Colorado is working to finalize its position and permit in the next few months. Third, we did extensive public outreach to the Larimer County Commissioners regarding their role in permitting for NISP. We sent them a strongly worded legal letter that sets us up to continue engaging with the County during its permitting process in 2019. Fourth, we helped…

Hi Amazing Poudre River Lovers! For 17 years, we’ve been fighting to stop the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) because it would further dam/drain/divert the Poudre River through Fort Collins. All 3 permits NISP needs -- State, County, and Federal -- will occur in 2020, and we are taking legal action to stop it. It's Your Support That Allows Us To Take Action! Please donate online by clicking here: http://www.savethepoudre.org/take-action/donate/ First, Save The Poudre took legal action by filing an "appeal" against the State of Colorado which gave NISP a "401 Water Quality Certification" in January. Save The Poudre's appeal alleges thirteen violations of State regulations. The Top Five violations are: 1. No water rights – the plan to fill Glade Reservoir requires buying hundreds of farms in Weld County, whereas only a few farms have been bought. 2. Fails to take into account climate change and its reduction in streamflow in the Poudre River. 3. Mitigation won’t occur until full build-out, maybe 30 years in the future. 4. Mitigation doesn’t allow for peak flows to clean out the river and restore the riparian forest through Fort Collins. 5. Fails to quantify any requirements to meet state water quality standards and relies on nebulous "adaptive management". The State permit was given by the staff at the Water Quality Control Division. The appeal now goes to the "Water Quality Control Commission" appointed by Governor Polis. The appeal process will play out over the coming months. Second, Save The Poudre and two neighborhood groups – Save Rural NoCo and No Pipedream – filed a formal appeal with the Larimer County Land Use Director requesting a reversal of the County determination that Northern Water's NISP application is complete. The 10-page appeal lists numerous issues completely ignored by the NISP application that Save The Poudre and neighborhood groups claim are required by Larimer County's land use regulations. Not only did we get the County process postponed through the coronavirus pandemic, our challenge requires that the County Land Use Director respond and either reverse the completeness determination or counter the challenge with justifications, which may also extend the process. This appeal will also play out in the coming weeks and months. The County permitting process is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so stay tuned about how you can get involved, comment, and show up at County hearings! Third, Save The Poudre is awaiting the final “Record of Decision” from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected to be released in the summer of 2020. Our legal and scientific team is ready for battle when this permit is released. Finally, we are still in court against the proposed Thornton Pipeline. With all of your help, we helped stop the Thornton Pipeline dead in its tracks, and are defending the County’s decision to deny the Pipeline. Here’s the bottom line – THIS IS IT! Your past support has made all of the difference in our ability to engage in these battles, and your current and future support…

For Immediate Release Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper Contact: Gary Wockner, Director, 970-218-8310 Groundhog Day On The Poudre River: With Release of NISP FEIS, Nothing Has Changed In 15 Years As Massive Dam Project Would Still Drain The Poudre Through Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO: Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the long-awaited "Final Environmental Impact Statement (link here)" (FEIS) for the "Northern Integrated Supply Project" (NISP), a massive proposed new dam/diversion that would further drain the Cache la Poudre River through Fort Collins. Although 15 years has passed by, nothing has changed -- the project would still dramatically reduce river flows and have huge negative impacts on the river. In fact, right off the bat on page 15 (link here, image below), the FEIS indicates that the NISP "preferred alternative" ("2M") would drain 45% of the water out of the river in May during high-flow periods and 39% of the water in June, the two peak flow months in downtown Fort Collins. Further, these impacts would occur exactly where the City of Fort Collins will begin construction of a new whitewater park this Fall (See graph below for the "Lincoln Gage" which is right across the street from New Belgium Brewing). "It's Groundhog Day on the Poudre River," said Gary Wockner. "Every day for 15 years we've been waking up and nothing has changed -- and now this FEIS clearly indicates, again, that NISP would further drain and destroy the Poudre River through Fort Collins." Further yet, the Poudre River has already had 63% of its water drained out by farms and cities at the same point in the river, and thus this new diversion would dramatically decrease river flows compared to the river's natural state. The FEIS weighs in a 2,272 pages plus 23 additional "technical reports", but the Army Corps has given the public a paltry 45 days to review the massive document. "The first thing we will do is send the Corps a request to extend the public comment period," said Wockner. "And then our team of scientists and attorneys will dig in for our summer of reading." "We've been at this for 15 years, and we are digging in for the home stretch," continued Wockner. "We are bigger, stronger, and better funded than ever, and we will never stop fighting to protect the Poudre." This press release is posted here. ***end*** -- Gary Wockner, PhD, Director Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper PO Box 20, Fort Collins, CO 80522 http://savethepoudre.org http://www.facebook.com/SaveThePoudre https://twitter.com/savethepoudre 970-218-8310

June 22/23, 50th Anniversary Celebration, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Cache la Poudre

Look Who Donated $10,000 To Save The Poudre!

Save The Poudre: 2020 IS IT – WE ARE TAKING LEGAL ACTION!

PRESS RELEASE: Groundhog Day On The Poudre River: With Release of NISP FEIS, Nothing Has Changed In 15 Years