UCRWG Vision and Mission
The Upper Colorado River Watershed Group (UCRWG) is a nonpolitical, nonregulatory organization dedicated to promoting the environmental health and resiliency of the Colorado River headwaters through science, education, and outreach. Based in Grand County, UCRWG strives to cultivate existing community and environmental resources that support watershed resiliency, provide technical and financial support for local stakeholders implementing science-based watershed restoration projects, and promote watershed education in communities throughout the Upper Colorado River basin.
The process of developing UCRWG began in Fall 2016 with a series of community meetings in Grand County that were free and open to the public. These meetings helped identify the main concerns and priorities of the community, as well as citizens interested in participating in the creation of a Grand County watershed group. You can see photo recaps of these community meetings on our blog.
Policy Statement
UCRWG will support and partner with local teams including landowners, neighbors, citizen scientists of all ages, and contractors who want to better understand, adopt, and restore parts of our Upper Colorado River Headwaters when consistent with the UCRWG April 2018 Upper Colorado River Watershed Resiliency Plan and September 2018 WaterSMART Roadmap to a Healthier Upper Colorado River Watershed. This will include a variety of funding mechanism approved by the UCRWG Board as consistent with UCRWG’s grass-roots approach and 501(c3) status.
How is UCRWG Funded?
We are currently funded by a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART grant. Taken from the agreement: “The U.S. Department of Interior’s (Department) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program establishes a framework to provide Federal leadership and assistance on the efficient use of water; integrating water and energy policies to support the sustainable use of all natural resources; forming strong diverse partnerships with States, tribes and local entities; and coordinating with other Department bureaus and offices on water conservation activities.
The Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) contributes to the WaterSMART strategy by providing funding to watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to form local solutions to address their water management needs. The purpose of the CWMP is to improve water quality and ecological resilience, conserve water, and reduce conflicts over water through collaborative conservation efforts in the management of local watersheds.”
