EAGLE POST - The newsletter of Friends of Eagles Nest Wilderness (fenw.org), apprising you of important activities in and around Eagles Nest, Holy Cross, and Ptarmigan Wilderness Areas. 
Greetings! Our main topic this month: SAVE THE COLORADO RIVER! |
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Introduction: SavetheColorado.Org started just a few years ago in Ft. Collins, and has mushroomed into an organization with more than 50,000 supporters. It's good that it has grown fast, because its goals are breath-takingly ambitious, and the threats to the river are growing rapidly. Their youthful enthusiasm is evident in the iconic image on their home page (you will never forget it) and in their policy of working "with soul, passion, and fun!"
BTW, every drop of water from Eagles Nest, Holy Cross, and Ptarmigan Wilderness Areas flows into the Colorado River. 
Save the Colorado River
John Fielder Save The Colorado's mission is to protect and restore the Colorado River and its tributaries from the source to the sea. Save The Colorado focuses on The Colorado has thousands of supporters throughout the Southwest U.S. from Denver to Los Angeles and beyond. The Lower Blue River is Threatened In the future Denver Water Board's Moffat Project will remove additional water from Dillon Reservoir via Roberts Tunnel to the Front Range. To insure this DWB secured the cooperation of 18 signatories of the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement on September 26, 2013, including Summit and Grand Counties. In addition, more Colorado River water will be diverted from the Fraser and Williams Fork Rivers and be piped through the Moffat Tunnel to Boulder's Gross Reservoir. The signatories agreed not to oppose expansion of Gross Reservoir. Outflows from Dillon Reservoir into the Lower Blue will be reduced by 4,836 acre feet or 26% of current flows. Not Necessary to Build New Front Range Reservoirs and Expand Existing Ones Colorado uses 5 million acre-feet of water annually. Eighty percent of that, or 4 million acre-feet, is used by agriculture. The remaining 1 million acre-feet go to municipal and industrial uses. Colorado's population will increase from 5.4 million today to 10 million by 2050. Municipal and industrial uses, mostly along the Front Range, will require an additional 1 million acre feet of water, or double what they need today. 
One-half of that shortfall will and can be met through water conservation. Colorado communities have a good record of saving when they try, and can do even more. (To wit, half of all summer water use irrigates lawns.) The new Colorado Water Plan proposes that the other half of the shortfall be met by building new reservoirs and filling them with more West Slope Water, as well as water from East Slope rivers such as the Poudre. It is my belief, and that of Save the Colorado, that this is not necessary.
Water sharing is the solution to providing the additional 500,000 acre-feet needed for the Front Range. We can solve the municipal problem by "borrowing" water from farms and ranches via short term leasing of their water rights. A farm or ranch goes fallow one year and back into production the next. Leasing 12 percent of all agricultural water rights will mitigate the shortfall. We would not need to permanently "buy and dry" farms and ranches as has happened all too frequently in the past. What You Can Do Despite the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement, it is not too late to stop the diversion of additional water from Dillon Reservoir and the Lower Blue River. Save The Colorado will lead the way. Please visit the website and study the issue. Support Save The Colorado financially. Attend their presentations and fundraisers. About John Fielder: Author of THE best selling book EVER about Colorado - "Colorado: 1870 - 2000," in which he tracked down locations and reshot images more than a century after the originals - John Fielder has been received the Ansel Adams Award (Sierra Club) and the Achievement Award (Aldo Leopold Foundation - the first given to an individual), among many others. More than 30 books about the rolling plains, the soaring Rockies, and the remote redrock river canyons grace his bibliography. A native of North Carolina, John experienced the beauty of Colorado as a child, and knew then that this would be his home. Speaking of home, of all the glories of Colorado, for John none exceeds that of Eagles Nest Wilderness; from his home he looks across the Blue River Valley into its very heart. He is a member of and true Friend of Eagles Nest Wilderness. John continues to promote his photography at his studio in Denver's Art District (833 Santa Fe Drive). See his offerings at www.johnfielder.com. 
All this is but part of the story, for John is a passionate environmentalist. Recently, he published a splendid book about the Yampa River Valley, which is at risk of serious environmental degradation. Even more recently, his horizons have broadened further, encompassing the entire Colorado River drainage. As a Board Member of Save The Colorado River, he actively promotes their ambitious agenda.
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Make a difference! 
FENW and the wilderness we care for lost a good friend a few weeks ago with the passing of Roy Carlson. Roy and his wife Sue were stalwart trail crew volunteers for quite a few years, participating in virtually all of our day-long and pack-in projects. From their mountain home in Blue River they trekked across the county each summer to help build countless water bars and drains, clear illegal campfire rings, and remove fallen trees in the Eagles Nest Wilderness. No matter how hard and dirty the task Roy was ready to pitch in with great energy and, always, good humor. We will miss him.
2016 Trail projects: ONLY ONE CHANCE LEFT FOR 2016: August 12-14 Day Projects Saturdays: June 4, June 18, July 9 Pack-in weekends (Fri-Sun): July 15-17 and August 12-14. Details Interested in becoming a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger? Details We also need volunteers  develop and implement communications plans to keep FENW members informed and involved... and maybe have some fun too.
devise and deliver plans to greatly expand the field volunteer base through publicity, community outreach and partnerships.
plan and implement ongoing PR programs to raise the public profile of FENW in the community.
preserve and protect our backyard wilderness areas by developing and promoting FENW wilderness public policy positions.
apply for grants to raise funds for FENW and Forest Service stewardship programs and special projects.
Details: contact Bill Reed (billr412@icloud.com). 
Friends, Friends, Friends! Check out our sister 'FRIENDS'
Newsletters Upcoming events
Visit the FENW website for in-depth information at www.fenw.org/ 
CITY MARKET COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM Please register your City Market Value Card in 2016. This year, City Market will once again make a contribution to area non-profit organizations. The program allocates funds (rebates) to the organizations based on purchases made using the City Market Value Card. Organization members must go online at www.citymarket.com to register their Value Card, and link their card to FENW's organization name and/or registration number - 46910. Individual purchases will be counted towards FENW's rewards allocation without compromising your earned fuel points. Please note that each card holder may only sign up for one tax exempt organization. THANKS! WE* have identified you as someone who will value our news updates. But if you do not wish to receive further emails from us, just click unsubscribe. *The FENW Board: Currie Craven (Pres), George Resseguie (Treas/Secy), Bill Reed, Bill Betz, Ken Harper, Cyndi Koop, Mike Mayrer, Frank Gutmann, Tim Drescher. |
