For Immediate Release
July 21, 2010
Contact: Gary Wockner: Director, Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper: 970-218-8310
Scott Edwards: Director of Advocacy, Waterkeeper Alliance: 914-674-0622, x13
Waterkeeper Alliance Helps "Save the Poudre" with Tradename Case
"Cease and Desist" letter sent to Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
Fort Collins, CO -- Waterkeeper Alliance, with nearly 200 global affiliates, is helping Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper stop the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) from infringing on the "Save the Poudre" service mark and tradename. Today, Waterkeeper Alliance sent a "cease and desist" letter to NCWCD, demanding that NCWCD immediately stop using the "Save the Poudre" mark and tradename on any "bumper stickers, banners, or in any other commercial or non-commercial medium."
The letter is here: http://poudreriver.home.comcast.net/~poudreriver/Save_The_Poudre_C&D_Waterkeeper.pdf
"Waterkeeper Alliance and our member programs have worked hard over the many years to build our reputation and name recognition as uncompromised advocates for clean and healthy waterways,” said Scott Edwards, an attorney who is Director of Advocacy for the Alliance. "We will not stand by and let those who work against our rivers use our protected names to drive their own destructive agenda. Infringement of our rights and those of our member programs is an issue we take very seriously."
The protected tradename dispute arose when NCWCD printed and distributed bumper stickers and banners that say "Save the Poudre: Store it in Glade" as an effort to prop up the dying Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and Glade Reservoir. NISP is now 5 years late and about $150 million over budget, with no end in sight to the delay and cost escalations. NCWCD is a public taxpayer-funded agency that has a nonelected board of directors appointed by judges. NCWCD gets its money from property taxes assessed on homes and farms across northern Colorado.
"We're a non-profit organization that registered the tradename 'Save the Poudre' with the State of Colorado," said Gary Wockner of Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper. "We've been using the name for 4 years on our website, press releases, and printed literature. We're the only 'Save the Poudre' in the world, and we’ve recently filed for service mark protection with the US Patent and Trademark Office. That this public agency stole our name and is using it against us is reprehensible."
"We've dealt with several cases around the U.S. where industries and developers have tried to use the Waterkeeper names for their own anti-environmental purposes," said Edwards. "But it's extremely rare to have a government agency involved in this kind of dubious activity. We trust they’ll do the right thing and immediately cease use of the ‘Save the Poudre’ name."
This July 16, 2010 Greeley Tribune story contains an image where members of public are holding the bumper sticker while a large banner is displayed in the background: http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100716/NEWS/100719769/1003&parentprofile=1001
"The statement 'Save the Poudre: Store it in Glade' is a deliberate lie and a cynical ploy," continued Wockner. "This huge new dam and reservoir would kill the Cache la Poudre River -- citizens, elected officials, business leaders, and scientists agree."
The Fort Collins City Council voted unanimously to oppose NISP/Glade. Northern Colorado's only business newspaper -- the Northern Colorado Business Report -- opposed NISP/Glade and said "NISP is a mistake we can't afford to make." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a stinging rebuke of NISP/Glade including a veto threat. The State of Colorado Water Quality Control Division issued a scathing critique of NISP/Glade. And, one of the largest citizens' coalitions in western America -- the Save the Poudre Coalition -- is 100% committed to stopping the project. NISP/Glade is now over 5 years late and its price tag has escalated from $350 million to $490 million – Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper has calculated that the actual cost of the project including interest on debt could total $1 billion or more.
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Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper is made up of 19 national, state, and regional groups including: Waterkeeper Alliance, National Wildlife Federation, Clean Water Action, Wild Earth Guardians, the Xerces Society, Defenders of Wildlife, American Rivers, American Whitewater Association, Western Resource Advocates, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Lighthawk, Environment Colorado, Sierra Club – Rocky Mountain Chapter, Fort Collins Audubon Society, Citizen Planners, Wolverine Farm Publishing, Poudre Paddlers, Friends of the Poudre, and the Cache la Poudre River Foundation. Membership in these groups totals over 3 million American citizens.
Waterkeeper Alliance is a global environmental organization uniting more than almost 200 Waterkeeper programs around the world and focusing citizen advocacy on the issues that affect our waterways, from pollution to climate change. More information can be found at www.waterkeeper.org.
