Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed Celebrating 10 Year Anniversary
This year, the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) will celebrate 10 years as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the entire Cache la Poudre River Watershed. With a mission “to improve and maintain the ecological health of the Poudre River Watershed through community collaboration,” CPRW has been instrumental in the community-based management of the Poudre Watershed over the past decade.
In the summer of 2012, the High Park and Hewlett Gulch wildfires burned over 90,000 acres of the Poudre Watershed. The scale and intensity of the wildfires brought people from local water utilities, natural resource agencies, non-profits, and businesses together to plan and prioritize post-fire restoration needs. Initially known as the High Park Restoration Coalition, the group eventually formalized and became the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed in 2013. CPRW works across the entire Poudre watershed, from the headwaters to the confluence with the South Platte River, on issues relating to the resilience of our streams, rivers, and forests.
To date, CPRW and their partners have restored over 9,000 acres of land burned in wildfires, planted more than 10,000 trees, treated more than 1,600 acres of forest to reduce wildfire risk, designed and managed river restoration projects throughout the watershed, established a long-term Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring Program, created multiple watershed plans, and have engaged with thousands of citizens about watershed health and resilience. Most importantly, CPRW has successfully convened stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to work together to address difficult challenges facing the Poudre Watershed, including forest health, wildfire and flood recovery, river restoration, and water quality.
“We are thrilled to reach this milestone of implementing our mission in the watershed for the last 10 years. So much has changed in the last decade for the organization and for the watershed, but the one constant is the people,” said Hally Strevey, Executive Director of CPRW. “We see it in our volunteers who return year after year, in our partners and donors who make our work possible, and with the community who truly values our beloved Poudre River.”
“CPRW’s 10-year anniversary is not just a milestone for the organization, but a celebration for the whole community that touches the Poudre Watershed. The fact that Northern Colorado has supported, volunteered, engaged with, and shown up for the Coalition through the last ten years shows the dedication to working together toward a more resilient future,” said Jordana Barrack, CPRW Board Chair. “We also call on our community to support CPRW as it works toward these next ten critical years – for our river, our forests, and the lands that sustain our home.”
CPRW will host a celebratory fundraiser, Take Me to the River, on June 1, 2023 at The Lyric in Fort Collins. Tickets will include a beer and wine paired farm-to-table dinner, live music from the Sugar Britches, guest speakers and more. To purchase tickets, visit: https://www.poudrewatershed.org/take-me-to-the-river
