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
PRESSER: State Must Investigate, Reveal Cause of Fish Kill on Poudre River
For Immediate Release
Oct. 1, 2018
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310
State Must Investigate, Reveal Cause of Fish Kill on the Poudre River
Fort Collins: Recent news reports have indicated that the fish kill on the Poudre River through Fort Collins has wiped out thousands of fish (see Sept 28 Coloradoan story here). Further, one of the prevailing hypotheses for the kills is warmer temperatures and lower flows in the Poudre River. Further yet, warmer temperatures and lower flows may be the exact future for the Poudre River as climate change intensifies and if the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) is built.
“The State must fully investigate and reveal the cause of this fish kill,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Poudre. “If it is related to warmer temperatures and lower flows, then climate change and NISP could turn the river through Fort Collins into a muddy, stinking, dead ditch, not a river ever again.”
About 63% of the water in the Poudre River is already drained out by cities and farmers before the river reaches downtown Fort Collins. If the Northern Integrated Supply Project is built, about 40% of what’s left of the peak flow of water during May and June will also be drained out (see July 20 press release here). Even worse, the proposed ‘mitigation’ for the huge negative impacts on the health of the river wouldn’t extend downstream past LeMay Avenue in Fort Collins where the fish kill has occurred.
“NISP would basically kill the Poudre River through Fort Collins,” said Wockner. “The State and the Army Corps of Engineers must do a full analysis of the potential impacts of NISP including its low flows and interaction with climate change.”
October 4th is the deadline for comments to the Army Corps of Engineers on the Final Environmental Impact Statement for NISP.
The public can send in comments to the Army Coprs by clicking through to Save The Poudre’s ACTION PAGE HERE.
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