COLORADO WATERSHED ASSEMBLY

The Colorado Watershed Assembly is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocate for watershed organizations around the state and citizen involvement in the collaborative decision making process.

The Assembly works to build strong local watershed groups; we provide leadership training, assist member organizations with fundraising, represent the groups’ priorities before state and federal agencies, and keep member groups informed about important events and opportunities. It is a priority for the Assembly to build community-based leadership through cooperation and communication

The Colorado Watershed Assembly supports collaborative efforts to protect and improve the conservation values of the land, water and other natural resources of Colorado watersheds. The goal of the Assembly is to support the efforts of individual and non-profit community groups statewide working to conserve and enhance the natural resources of local watersheds.

The Colorado Watershed Assembly is a coalition of citizen groups organized across watershed boundaries rather than political ones. Last year at this time our Colorado coalition consisted of 60 different watershed groups; today that number has grown to 71 and we hope it will continue to grow. The Assembly not only applauds the work of these citizen groups, but strives to empower and support these grassroots organizations as they work to bring a wide spectrum of stakeholder interests to the table and implement on-the-ground projects. The Assembly is dedicated to increasing awareness of resources and opportunities available grassroots organizations and to advancing local organizational growth, sustainability, and pride.

As the number of watershed groups has grown, so have the Assembly programs. Recently, the Assembly was awarded the River Watch program. The River Watch program facilitates volunteer data collection; this data is then used to educate citizens and inform decision makers about the condition of Colorado’s waters and used in the Clean Water Act decision-making process. This is an exciting time as the Assembly adds data sharing capabilities to its growing information network.

Through an electronic networking system, the “Inflow Network, ” the Assembly distributes a weekly newsletter that identifies new funding sources, training programs, events, conferences and relevant announcements; we also send out a compilation of water news in a monthly water report. The Assembly now has the ability to direct announcements to specific basins.