Hello Poudre River Lovers!

First and foremost, thank you for all of your AMAZING support! We couldn’t do this important work without all of you. We’ll fill you in on what we accomplished this past year and what we know lies ahead in 2016.

2015 has been a landmark year in Save The Poudre’s work to protect and restore the Poudre River and we’re proud of what we have accomplished on a shoestring budget. As we approach 2016, we know that much work lies ahead and we can’t succeed without your support. Please donate today to help us continue to protect our special Cache la Poudre River.

After seven years in consultants’ offices and the back rooms of the US Army Corps of Engineers, on June 19th the Corps released the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) – with a very short public comment period. The SDEIS is a huge technical document required by federal law to describe the proposed Glade Reservoir’s environmental impacts upon the Poudre River and other natural resources.

With your support, we rallied a team of 34 attorneys, scientists and volunteers to comb over the 1,500 page SDEIS. We found extreme problems with the report and submitted more than 100 pages of technical comments to the Corps. By law, these comments must be taken seriously and must be addressed by the Corps in next stage of the EIS process. Further, we aggressively reached out to the media about the inadequacies of the SDEIS’ analysis and helped create over a dozen news stories outlining the major problems with NISP and the SDEIS. We also encouraged supporters to write opinion pieces to local newspapers and speak at SDEIS public hearings in Fort Collins and Greeley – and you delivered! We were heartened to see that other SDEIS reviewers -- including the cities of Fort Collins and Greeley, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Larimer County, and State of Colorado Water Quality Control Commission -- also submitted decisively negative comments to the Corps.

Simply put, the SDEIS was fatally flawed, as is NISP’s entire premise. The project should never be built because it will destroy the Poudre River that we love. More than ever, we feel like we can beat NISP and save the Poudre River!

So, what happens next?

The Corps announced that they will move to the next step in the permitting process to create a “Final Environmental Impact Statement” (FEIS) by the summer of 2016. Thus, Save The Poudre will be very busy for the next year engaging in this most critical stage of the NISP permitting process. It is now as important as ever that we remain vigilant and keep our nose to the grindstone. Here’s our Poudre-saving workplan for the next 12 months:

• The SDEIS was incomplete and the Corps promised they will release new information in 2016 for
  
  
• public review, including a critically important water quality analysis. Save The Poudre will hire a technical consultant to review the report and engage our supporters and technical volunteers in the public review and comment process.
  
  
• The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife is required to prepare a NISP “mitigation plan” for inclusion in the Final EIS. Save The Poudre will be engaging with the State’s process to develop this plan. Although we believe NISP can never be properly mitigated and our goal is to stop NISP, it’s imperative that we participate in the State’s process as it moves forward.
  
  
• The City of Fort Collins will continue to be involved with discussions and analyses about NISP; Save The Poudre will also need to monitor and interact with these activities.
  
  
• Finally, Save The Poudre must continue to build the legal case and raise money for our war chest to stop NISP for a likely inevitable legal battle in court.
  

In addition to our NISP-related activities, Save The Poudre has other challenges and opportunities that we’ll work on over the coming year:

• The City of Thornton is moving forward with a long-standing water project that may impact the Poudre River. Save The Poudre is engaging with that process.
  
  
• The City of Fort Collins is moving forward with the “Halligan Reservoir Project.” A Draft Environmental Impact Statement is anticipated to be released in 2016. Save The Poudre will be analyzing that report and participating with the public review and comment process.
  
  
• The City of Greeley is moving forward with their “Seaman Reservoir Project” as well as their “Bellvue Pipeline.” Save The Poudre is keeping close tabs on both projects.
  
  
• Save The Poudre will continue all of its regular work including:
  • a. Providing public education and outreach at meetings, fairs and other events.
  • b. Participating in regional forums such as the Poudre RiverFest, Poudre Runs Through It and the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed.
  • c. Supporting efforts to restore habitat and increased flows along the Poudre in Fort Collins.
  • d. Supporting the effort to construct the whitewater/paddling park in downtown.

As you can see, we have a lot to do! We will continue to need your amazing support over the next year.
Please donate on-line at SaveThePoudre.org/donate.html.

Together, We Are Working To Save The Poudre and Your Donation Help Pays For That Work!

Thank you very, very much! Sincerely, Gary Wockner Executive Director