Donate Subscribe to News
Blog

Great News, Poudre River Lovers! NISP HAS BEEN DELAYED AGAIN!

Great News, Poudre River Lovers!

NISP HAS BEEN DELAYED AGAIN!

We recently found out that the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) has now been delayed until 2018. So, in 2018 that will be the FIFTEENTH YEAR we have been fighting and Stopping NISP.

HOORAY!

Thank you for all of the support for the last 14 years! Your support has made all of the difference, and we’d be grateful for your support again.

Please click here to donate to Save The Poudre:
http://savethepoudre.org/donate.html

But the news isn’t all good. Due to the Trump administration’s lock on the federal government, we can almost guarantee that the permitting process for NISP will get fast-tracked in 2018. Further, it’s becoming increasing clear to us that the system is rigged. Over the 14 years of our fighting to stop NISP, we’ve been relentless in providing objective, scientific information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, every time they come out with a new draft of the Environmental Impact Statement, they pretty much blow off our comments and agree with the NISP side of the story.

More recently, we provided objective, scientific information to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, but they also blew us off and supported the “mitigation plan” for NISP which is filled with loopholes in the even minimal mitigation it proposes.

All of that means we are likely headed to court.

When our forefathers and foremothers in Congress in the 1960s and 1970s passed laws to protect the environment, they included provisions that allowed for citizens and groups like Save The Poudre to enforce the law. If we feel that the federal and state govt have violated the law, then we can enforce that law by filing lawsuits against those governments.

But we can’t be successful without your help.

Your financial support has and will continue to make the difference. Every time a public comment period is open in the permitting process, we throw ourselves into it – hiring outside scientific consultants and spending hundreds of hours packing the legal record for the eventual lawsuit. Over the next 12 months, there will be more critical periods where we will once again throw ourselves into it.

You have been a great member of the Save The Poudre team for 14 years! We greatly appreciate your support, but more importantly, you’ve allowed us to speak for the Cache la Poudre River in this long, crazy battle to stop NISP and Save The Poudre.

Every $10 or $25 makes a real difference.

If you can afford $50 or $100 or more, that’s great too!
CLICK HERE TO DONATE:
http://savethepoudre.org/donate.html

Thank you for your support!

Mark Easter, Chair of the Board; Gary Wockner, Executive Director

Related Posts

Save The Poudre Update: We’re Doubling Down Against the Thornton Pipeline!

Hi Amazing Friends of the Poudre River! It's been a wild 10 days since our announcement about the Agreement we reached to stop opposing the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), all of which is still being solidified. Stay tuned for more information about all of that in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, we're doubling down against the Thornton Pipeline. Yesterday, we filed our opening brief in our lawsuit against the pipeline, in which we made it perfectly loud and clear that Larimer County should have required Thornton to present a "Poudre River Option" for sending its water down the river instead of a pipeline north of Fort Collins. In fact, NISP will be sending about 1/3 of its water down the Poudre River, equaling about 14,000 acre feet, which is nearly the exact same amount of water that Thornton is proposing to put in its pipeline. If NISP can do it, Thornton can also do it! Further, Thornton's water would be during the summer months which would greatly help to make the river cleaner and healthier at the same time that more people are recreating in the river, including at the Whitewater Park in downtown Fort Collins. Rest assured that our work protecting the Poudre is not done and we are still working hard. Thank you for your ongoing support! Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Poudre

PRESS RELEASE: Save The Poudre secures $100 million for “Poudre River Improvement Fund” to end NISP opposition and lawsuit

February 28, 2025 Press Release Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, gary.wockner@savethepoudre.org Save The Poudre secures $100 million for “Poudre River Improvement Fund” to end NISP opposition and lawsuit The conservation settlement is likely one of the largest in U.S. history for a river its size and envisions a “Poudre River Water Trail” to transform the lower river into a recreational amenity Fort Collins, CO: Today, Save The Poudre announces that it has entered into an Agreement (posted here) with the Northern Integrated Supply Project Water Activity Enterprise [NISP Enterprise] that will secure $100 million, paid by the NISP Enterprise, for a “Poudre River Improvement Fund” (Fund). In return, Save The Poudre will end its 20-year opposition to NISP and withdraw its lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for giving a permit to NISP. The Agreement ends the two-decade long battle over NISP which is a proposed $2.25 billion off-channel reservoir project northwest of Fort Collins that would drain more water out of the Cache la Poudre River to slake the thirst of growing towns in Weld, Larimer, and Boulder counties. The $100 million Fund is likely one of the largest river conservation settlements in U.S. history for a river its size and can provide benefits to the Poudre River from Gateway Park in Poudre Canyon all the way to the confluence with the South Platte River east of Greeley about 50 river-miles downstream. The Agreement specifically supports the potential creation of a “Poudre River Water Trail” that could transform the river into a recreational amenity for tubing, fishing, and boating from Gateway Park downstream to Eastman Park in Windsor. Exhibit A of the Agreement lists 10 types of projects that the Fund can be used for – such as ecological, habitat, and recreational improvements – in addition to describing how the Fund will be managed. Importantly, the $100 million is separate from, and in addition to, the money already committed by NISP in its “2017 Mitigation and Enhancement Plan.” “For 20 years, we have brought attention to the plight of the Poudre River and the impacts on the river that would be caused by NISP,” said Gary Wockner, who has directed Save The Poudre for all of those 20 years. “We are pleased to have reached this Agreement and we look forward to putting the Improvement Fund to work for the health of the river and all of the people who love and enjoy the river in northern Colorado.” Save The Poudre will appoint 3 people to the Fund Committee – which will oversee and direct all of the Fund’s expenditures on projects – and the NISP Enterprise will also appoint 3 people. The Fund will be held in trust at the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado. The NISP Enterprise will pay out a total of $100 million over a 15-year period, with the first payment of $5 million made next week. Mark Easter, who has been the board chair of Save The Poudre since it was…

Poudre River Update: In the year 2025, we’re STILL Fighting to Protect the Poudre!

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

Back To Top