The newly formed Eagle River Fund has committed to match donations made through August 20 to support the Edwards Tire Removal Project, up to $5,000. The Eagle River Fund board of directors, with Staunton Golding as its chairperson and members Tom Gart and Scott Turnipseed, decided to award funding to this community effort as an early example of this funding mechanism’s bolstering of projects that protect local waterways.
The Eagle River Fund is built upon the concept of collaboration and a shared interest in the health of local rivers and streams. “We looked to models, such as the Yampa River Fund, that have been successfully increasing the impact of projects benefitting water quality and quantity, and used them as inspiration. What we saw was entities of all kinds coming together to create their own secure, local funding source so that more could be done on the projects that the community values,” Melanie Smith, Eagle River Fund Operations Manager, said.
Launched after a feasibility study and a 40+ person working group made the recommendation to proceed, fundraising is ongoing to secure $5,000,000 for the Eagle River Fund’s principal, which will release $200,000+ annually for grantmaking.
Thanks to the support of lead donors Margie and Tom Gart, the Fund has already been awarding grants, while simultaneously fundraising. “We have structured our gift to allow the Fund to operate while we are fundraising. This serves as proof of concept for why a local, secure funding source makes such a difference to the groups doing important work here in the Eagle River Valley,” Margie Gart said.
The Eagle River Coalition was approached by Brad Ernest, a community member who is passionate about protecting the health of the river and was hoping to address the issue through a collaborative effort.
“The tire removal project is a great fit with our mission and dovetails with the longstanding Eagle River Cleanup taking place this fall. Not to mention, we get to work with HOAs and local governments, volunteers who have been passionate about this issue for decades, businesses that are donating their resources to the project and the donors who will make the project possible. The Eagle River Fund’s support will make a big difference and we hope it brings exposure to the many efforts happening throughout the valley – not just by the Eagle River Coalition – to address water quality and quantity, ” says Vicki Flynn, Eagle River Coalition Executive Director.
Another project that has received support from the Fund includes a final phase of the Eagle River Community Water Plan development, which uses present and future human and ecosystem river health values to identify opportunities to protect local river resources. This Plan serves as a to-do list for the work that the Fund itself will be supporting through its grants.
Additionally, the Eagle River Fund matched funding from the Beyond Lawn program to support a water-wise demonstration garden installation at the Riverwalk at Edwards. This garden integrates 20+ species of native and/or low-water-use plants and shrubs to provide a more biodiverse landscape that inspires similar action and will reduce water use by more than 80% as it establishes. The project brought together stakeholders from Eagle County Conservation District, Colorado State University Extension, Gore Range Landscaping, Gallegos, Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Eagle River Coalition, Edwards Metropolitan District and the Riverwalk Property Owners Association.
The first competitive Eagle River Fund grant opportunity is anticipated to open in early 2026. Groups (such as the Eagle River Coalition, Trout Unlimited, Eagle County Conservation District and others), as well as municipalities and governments, can submit funding requests for project support. It is intended to provide match funding and leverage other funds to increase capacity for collaboration and extend the size and scope of water projects.
To join the Eagle River Fund as a donor or to learn more, please visit eagleriverfund.org or contact Melanie Smith at eagleriverfund@eagleriverco.
To support the tire removal project through a tax-deductible donation, donate online at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/
