When it comes to water, much of what we see in the news is concerning. The headlines I see indicate that reservoir levels are dropping below critical thresholds and harmful aquatic invasive species are spreading in the Colorado River system. I worried about our snowpack this November as I experienced weather and temperatures that felt like early September. While discussing threats of flooding and wildfire, a veteran wildland firefighter recently quipped to me that “our climate just isn’t as predictable as it used to be.”
But against the backdrop of all that uncertainty, the Eagle River Coalition (ERC) is a local organization working tirelessly to ensure our water resources and aquatic ecosystems remain resilient. You may know the group as the organizers of the Community Pride Highway Cleanup each May and the Eagle River Cleanup in September. Maybe your child or grandchild was among the 370 fifth-graders who learned about water and rivers at this year’s Eagle River Water Festival. Perhaps you or one of your neighbors benefited from rebates and expertise provided by the Beyond Lawn program that removed and replaced 110,000 square feet of irrigated turfgrass in Eagle County in the first three years of the program.
With the Eagle River Community Water Plan as a guide, the small staff at ERC are anticipating and responding to the threats and challenges facing the Eagle and Colorado rivers in Eagle County. They leverage grant funds from state and federal agencies to restore wetlands high in the hills between Wolcott and the Colorado River and restore riparian vegetation on the banks of the Eagle in the heart of Edwards. The Homestake Valley Community Science Day offers community members the opportunity to connect with one of the most spectacular landscapes at the headwaters of the Colorado River system.
In addition to the programs they host and projects they lead, Eagle River Coalition staff and board are a trusted source of data-driven information about local water issues. As the outgoing board chair, I’m especially proud of the work the organization has done to gather and analyze data that allows local decision makers to plan and prepare for a climate future in which water will almost certainly be less plentiful than it has been in the past. We couldn’t do this work without the support and collaboration of our local partners and community to ensure the protection of our most vulnerable and precious resource: water.
The challenges our watershed faces will continue in 2026 and beyond, but you can count on the Eagle River Coalition to pursue its mission to advocate for the health of and protect the Upper Colorado and Eagle River watersheds. Please consider joining us as a supporter, whether as a donor, program participant, volunteer, or sponsor and become a guardian of your local rivers. It’s a crucial time for us to come together and take action to protect the precious resources that make our communities and landscapes home.
To get involved or to learn more, please visit eagleriverco.org or email us at info@eagleriverco.org
Pete Wadden is the president of the Eagle River Coalition Board of Directors and a resident of Gypsum, Colorado.
