Poudre River Update: NISP, Thornton Pipeline, and Halligan Project

August 31, 2025
Gary Wockner
River News

Hi Friends of the Poudre,

We want to give you an update on all of our work, especially on projects you may be reading about in the newspaper. It’s been a long 20-year adventure for Save The Poudre, much of which is winding down, while new projects are winding up.

First, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). Recall that we reached a settlement agreement with NISP that dedicated $100 million to the Poudre River Improvement Fund (PRIF). The PRIF committee, of which we appoint 3 members, is now meeting on a monthly basis. They have begun to outline the 15-year work plan ahead of them, and will slowly start identifying projects to spend the money on. We are very pleased with how the process is proceeding, and we are optimistic that the money will be well spent. We will let you know when the first project is funded, which may be in 2026.

You likely also read that NISP is facing some uncertainty because the largest participant — the Fort Collins Loveland Water District — is threatening to drop out. We don’t have any additional information about this, but we are monitoring the situation closely. The PRIF is only funded if NISP moves forward, and the money alloted to PRIF depends on construction benchmarks including the construction of the Glade Reservoir dam. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

Second, the Thornton Pipeline. You may have read in the newspaper this week that we decided not to appeal the decision from the district court judge who approved the pipeline by ruling against our lawsuit. We made this decision because this judge’s ruling is now the third time that the courts have ruled that Thornton can’t be forced to send their water down the Poudre River rather than in a pipeline north of Fort Collins.

The first ruling was back in the year 2020, when a district court judge ruled that Thornton violated the County land use code and had to change the route of the pipeline, but couldn’t be forced to put the water in the river. The second time was when that same case came before the state court of appeals which upheld the district court judge’s ruling. And the third time was just last month on our new and most recent lawsuit where a different judge ruling against us and our effort to force Thornton to put the water in the River.

There are numerous legal details about why we thought the third time might be the charm, including that the County land use code had changed, and that the Thornton application was completely different. But, as they say, three strikes and you’re out — it makes no sense for us to appeal and waste our supporters’ donations when we have been repeatedly ruled against by different judges and different levels of courts. The Pipeline will get built.

Finally, Fort Collins’ “Halligan Project”. The City of Fort Collins is proposing to tear down Halligan down northwest of Fort Collins on the North Fork of the Poudre River, and replace it with a larger dam a hundred yards downstream. The new dam would also be on the channel of the river, even taller at around 100 feet, and is currently predicted to cost over $300 million of Fort Collins ratepayers’ money. We have been monitoring and commenting on this project for nearly 20 years.

We are currently having conversations with the City about “alternatives” that were identified in the Army Corps Environmental Impact Statement. One alternative is to store the City’s water in NISP’s Glade Reservoir, or even to be a participant in NISP, options that we are further investigating. Glade Reservoir is “off-channel” which is generally less environmentally damaging than a dam “on-channel,” but many details need to be understood and investigated before we take a formal stance.

Through all of this, we continue to keep our eyes and minds focused sharply on the ecological health of the river, the amount of water flowing in the river, and what’s best for the river.

Thanks for reading and all of your support! Feel free to reach out.

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.

***end***

Save The Poudre Describes “Poudre River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund”

June 10, 2024

Poudre River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund

The Cache la Poudre River downstream of Gateway Park in Larimer County is severely degraded and multiple new dam, diversion, and pipeline projects would further degrade it. The current flow regime – peak flows, base flows, and ongoing average flows – is already severely compromised. If all of the dam/diversion projects are built, the degradation will be further compounded. To enhance the ecological and recreational value and uses of the river, and to help address the problems with peak and base flows, a “Poudre River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund” must be established to fund the following types of projects:

Establish a “National Water Trail” from Gateway Park to the confluence with the South Platte.
Rebuild all diversion structures so that fish can swim upstream and boats can pass downstream.
Move diversion points downstream wherever possible so that water can flow farther downstream but still be gravity-fed to established ditches.
Develop strategies for water sharing arrangements – including exchanges and trades – between agricultural and municipal users to enhance recreational and environmental uses.
Develop a streamflow monitoring system that engages with cities and ditch companies – and the ditch rider – to make sure the river always has a “base flow” adequate for aquatic health, and eliminates dry-ups.
Clean the Poudre River – including city stormwater outfalls and agricultural ditch return flows – to allow the river to be used as a conveyance for municipal water and to improve the water quality.
Construct “channel enhancement” to narrow the river so that streamflow is deeper and cooler for better health of aquatic life and boating recreation.
Re-connect the river to its floodplain to increase the health of the riparian corridor.
Improve water quality and natural storage in degraded headwater areas, using nature-based ecological restoration processes.
Construct irrigation ditch “pump-up” systems that let water run farther downstream to be pumped back up to the same ditch.
Acquire and develop additional water supplies to increase flows in the Cache la Poudre River.

We estimate that between $100 million and $200 million is needed to fully establish an ecological healthy and recreationally functional Poudre River and a National Water Trail.

(This Fund description is a work in progress as of 6/10/2024 and may be changed.)