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 founded, will be one of the three people appointed by Save The Poudre (the other 2 have not been chosen yet). Gary Wockner will remain the director of Save The Poudre and continue directing the organization’s programs.
“I am looking forward to working with the Fund Committee to achieve the best outcomes for the health of the Poudre River and the communities that depend upon it,” said Easter, who is an ecologist recently retired from Colorado State University.
“Given the specifics of NISP and our federal court case against it, we strongly believe that this Agreement is the best outcome we could achieve on behalf of our members, the people of northern Colorado, and the Poudre River itself,” said Gary Wockner.
“The Poudre River is smack in the middle of one of the fastest growing areas of the U.S., and it will take hard work, creativity, and a lot of money to keep the Poudre alive,” said Wockner. “This $100 million is a strong step in the right direction, and we encourage other stakeholders and the philanthropic community to help us leverage this money for even bigger improvements to ensure that Fort Collins and northern Colorado will continue to have a river running through it.”
This press release is posted here on our website.
Save The Poudre is represented in this matter by Eubanks & Associates, PLLC: Law for the Public Interest.
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