Fall 2014
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Item Open Access The Poudre River: history of collaboration over conflict(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09-09) Cech, Tom, authorThe meeting was held on a hot, dry summer day in 1874. Two groups of irrigators, from the downstream Union Colony (Greeley) and the new agricultural community in upstream Fort Collins - came armed with guns. The neutral Eaton Schoolhouse was too small to hold everyone, so people crammed the doorway. Most were Civil War veterans, and they all had a problem. "How would the two feuding groups divide the trickle of Cache la Poudre River water the remainder of the irrigation season - would it be based on "greatest need" or by priority (who dug their ditch first)?" The Union Colony delegates didn't like the greatest need idea, and they "hurled defiance in hot and unseemly language." The debate escalated with the Union Colony irrigators threatening to dig new irrigation ditches upstream of Fort Collins to choke off their water supply. The Fort Collins contingent objected to their uncooperative reaction. Then the meeting got ugly. One man, unable to bear the tension any longer, stood up and yelled, "Every man to his tent! To your rifle and cartridges!" It was a flashpoint in Colorado's water history. Were irrigators shot at this meeting? Who tried to calm the crowd and come up with a workable compromise for water management on the Cache la Poudre River? Tom Cech will explain this and more.Item Open Access Starting at the top: how what happens in the Poudre's Upper Watershed affects all of us below(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09-23) Kovecses, Jennifer, authorIn the summer of 2012, wildfires burned over 87,000 acres of the Cache la Poudre watershed. Based on experiences in other parts of Colorado and the west, it quickly became apparent that a wildfire of this scale and intensity could potentially have dramatic negative impacts on the Poudre River - increased runoff, erosion, and flooding would not only change the ecological stability of the forest but also increase the amount of flows, sediment, and debris being delivered to the river. This, in turn, raised concerns about impacts to health of the river, safety on roads, and impacts to our water supply. In the aftermath of the wildfires over 30 natural resource professionals, local government officials, city utilities representatives, local non-profits, scientists, and residents began planning, prioritizing, and implementing post-fire restoration. This informal restoration collaborative has now evolved into a fully-fledged non-profit known as the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW). CPRW's mission is to improve and maintain the ecological health of the Poudre River watershed through community collaboration. While we are still focused on implementing remaining post-fire restoration needs, we are also launching an effort to work with watershed stakeholders to identify other high priority watershed issues such as how to reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfires in the watershed. Our aim is to develop a community-driven watershed plan for the upper Poudre River.Item Open Access Where the water in the Poudre originates and who has rights to use it(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-10-07) Simpson, Mark, author; Brown, Dan, authorMark Simpson and Dan Brown present separate PowerPoints presentations and discuss the development of the major water right in the area, including the water "exchanges" that are vital to water users on the stream, from the very first water adjudication until the present and discuss how water development and administration impacts the Poudre River.Item Open Access Where does it hurt? Ecological needs of the Poudre(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-10-21) Bledsoe, Brian, authorPresentation addresses three questions: How does the river work (ecologically)? What kind of river do we have today, and what might we be most concerned about in the future (ecologically)? What can we do?Item Open Access Agriculture to urban water transfers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-11-04) Wallace, George, authorPresentation covers: Changing the way we think about the water used by agriculture; benefits provided by the irrigated landscape; local food supplies are in greater demand; irrigated agriculture in Larimer County produces a wide range of crops; Larimer County farms, ranches provide open space; irrigated ag provides wildlife habitat; and Larimer County production expenses from 2007 USDA census of agricutlure.Item Open Access Our urban uses of the Poudre: quantity, quality and conservation(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-11-18) Reckentine, Eric, author; Smolnik, Susan, author; Raines, Richard, authorThree separate PowerPoint presentations discussing Our urban uses of the Poudre.Item Open Access Perspectives on the Poudre River World Café: gathering collective wisdom to explore stakeholder visions of the Poudre River(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-12-09) Center for Collaborative Conservation, authorFor this world café, we anticipate in-depth conversations that lead to feasible and collaborative ideas about sustaining the health and productivity of the Poudre River. This world cafe will be the culmination of the CCC Fall Seminar and Discussion Series about the Poudre River. We aim to integrate agricultural, ecological, recreational, legal, and local citizen perspectives concerning the Poudre River. Interest groups and participants may include water rights lawyers, ditch companies, farmers and ranchers, researchers, local government, NGOs, students, and Larimer and Weld County residents. World Cafe Objectives • To integrate diverse stakeholder visions and perspectives on sustaining the ecological health of the Poudre River while recognizing its role as a working river for agriculture and cities • To discuss ways for bridging and efficiently communicating about multiple stakeholder visions concerning the Poudre River.