Hi Friends of the Poudre, Your support at the end of 2024 made all the difference! And now we have our hands on the oars to paddle hard in 2025. THANK YOU!! As we move into 2025, we are completely focusing on our legal fights against the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and the Thornton Pipeline. To those ends, we have three big priorities. First, we are in a lawsuit in federal district court in Denver against the Army Corps of Engineers for giving a permit to NISP. That lawsuit will play out this year, and we're somewhat optimistic about our chances of winning. Court precedents in other legal fights are leaning our direction and we have a great team of attorneys battling in court. Second, NISP still needs a permit from the City of Fort Collins to build a massive pipeline across City Natural Areas. It appears that this permit process won’t start until Spring of 2025, but we will be thick in the fight to not only protect the Poudre River, but also protect the City’s Natural Areas that all citizens bought and paid for. Our beloved Natural Areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County SHOULD NOT be sacrifice zones for river destruction and sprawl in Weld County which is where the pipeline would take most of the water. Finally, we are in a lawsuit against the Larimer County Commissioners for giving a permit to the Thornton Pipeline. That lawsuit will also play out this year, and again, we have a great legal team fighting on our side. Throughout these battles, we continue to argue that these projects should “use the Poudre River as the conveyance” for the water rather than put it in massive pipelines north of Fort Collins. Once the water goes into a pipe, it never comes out again to flow down the Poudre. Further, once the pipelines are built, more and more water can be sent through pipes rather than down the Poudre. These pipelines will drain and destroy the river over time as more and more farm water is transferred to growing towns and cities, which is the long-term trend across the Front Range and in northern Colorado. We call this the “Poudre River Option” and it is the key to keeping the Poudre alive as towns and cities across the northern metro area – including the City of Thornton – continue to raid rivers and farms to supply water and fuel growth. 2025 is our 21st year of this fight which could go on for a few more years in these court battles. We are committed to getting the best outcome for the Poudre River that local residents holds dear. PLEASE KNOW – Your past support has made all of the difference in our ability to fight these battles and we are still fighting hard in 2025!. THANK YOU!! Mark Easter, Chair of the Board; Gary Wockner, Executive Director
PARTY TIME: Join Us At Save The Poudre’s End-Of-Year Party, Dec. 4th
Hi Poudre River Lovers!
Please join us on Dec. 4th for our year-end party! We will update you on all of our work, tell you what happened this year, and what’s going to happen next year with our almost-15 year fight against the Northern Integrated Supply Project.
In addition, our guest speaker will be former Fort Collins City Councilmember and Sierra Club Raconteur Alan Apt who has a new book out. Published by the Colorado Mountain Club and titled, Ski and Snowshoe Routes on Colorado’s Front Range, the book describes and maps the best routes all along the Front Range mountains all within easy driving distance of Larimer County. Alan will also generously donate a portion of book sales to Save The Poudre at the event! Alan has a great slideshow, and his book might make a perfect holiday gift for a snow-loving friend or family member.
WHAT: SAVE THE POUDRE YEAR-END PARTY
WHERE: AVOGADRO’S NUMBER, 605 S. Mason Street, Fort Collins
WHEN: MONDAY, DEC. 4th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Please click thru to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming here: https://www.facebook.com/events/306486349867915/
SEE YOU THERE!
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!