Spring has Sprung in the Big Thompson watershed

Happy Spring
Big Thompson watershed!

Our Staff excitedly introduce our new website:

Visit www.bigthompson.co

to learn more about our upcoming events, ongoing watershed health and resilience projects, resources for water and land management, how you can get involved,
and how to get in touch with us!

Spring into our upcoming events!

May is an important month for BTWC as we ramp up for our spring fundraising and community events . It’s time to grab your rubber ducks and rain barrel kits from BTWC’s new website while supplies last! Come enjoy a day along the beautiful Big Thompson River with your friends and family. All proceeds of rubber duck adoptions and rain barrel purchases go to Big Thompson Watershed Coalition to support upcoming watershed conservation and community resilience programs.
Visit each event page to learn more.

May 4^th Estes Valley Duck Race
Only 17 days left to adopt your rubber duckies! BTWC needs to sell a minimum of 20 duckies to be eligible for event proceeds. Almost 90% of proceeds go to our work if you select "Big T Watershed Coalition" at checkout. Each ducky gives you the chance to win some great prizes.
Buy the winning Duck here.

May 18^th Native Plant Sale & Habitat Fair
Visit High Plains Environmental Center’s annual plant sale and visit BTWC’s booth to learn about our habitat restoration impact in the watershed and place a bid for a chance to win a special rainbarrel (details below).

May 19^thBuild your own Rainbarrel
Forget DIY, we show you how and provide kits, paint to decorate, local beer, and clean up the mess afterwards! Reserve your rainbarrels today while supplies last. Join our silent auction for a chance to win a rainbarrel painted by our local artist, Deb Dohrmann (Check out our website to see this beautiful water conservation artwork).
Or click here to purchase your barrels!

June 2^ndBig Thompson Canyon Association Pancake Breakfast
Proceeds of this event’s annual raffle support the BTWC’s programs and capacity to improve the health and resilience of the canyon!

June 10^thBig Thompson Access Pier’s Grand Opening
Partake in the opening of the pier, a multi-partner project to build an access pier from US-34 for the public to enjoy the Big Thompson canyon.
Click here to register for this free event!

Please welcome David and Haley
to our community

David Lipinski
Please welcome our new board member David Lipinski. David first encountered BTWC’s programs and staff at 2018’s Big Thompson Canyon Association's Pancake Breakfast. Here he became interested in joining our Board of Directors to help drive or mission of Big Thompson resilience for current and future generations. He is most interested in helping BTWC share the “Whats” and “Whys” of watershed health with Big Thompson’s communities. David comes to us with over 30 years’ experience in counseling and a passion for incorporating the outdoors into health and lifestyle.

Haley Smith
Haley is a Masters of Science (M.S.) student with Colorado State University’s Human Dimensions of Natural Resource department. As a part of her Conservation Leadership program, she will develop our Big T-eammate Science & Stewardship program, set to launch this summer! She is originally from the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Washington and Lee University in Virginia. She spent two years leading outreach and education programs as an AmeriCorps member with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy before moving to Colorado in 2017.

Join us this summer as a Big T-eammate:

our new community-led conservation science program for our completed restoration projects!

Are you interested in learning about how to assess river health?

Do you want to learn how to analyze data and plan land management needs?

Or maybe you want to help your local non-profit watch the progress of our restoration project sites and plan stewardship activities?

Over summer to fall 2019, Haley Smith will work with BTWC as an associate researcher to develop our first Big T-eammates, a community science and stewardship program. This program will train participants in watershed monitoring activities as the first line of defense to assess the success and management needs of our restoration projects. We are thrilled to have Haley join us and invest critical time, energy, and expertise into the early development of this program to give us and our Big T-eammates the best chance at a successful launch this summer.
Interested in joining?

Learn more about the program here!

Photo courtesy of Evan Barrientos Photography

Updates from the Field

Check out BTWC’s updates from the field on river and forest restoration projects happening now!

Read about the restoration work at Reach 28, near Sweet Heart Winery and the future Wild Natural Area.

Watch this short video of our teams removing the ditch diversion to be replaced by fish friend water diversion structures at reach 30 & 31 also known as the Rossum to Wilson project and Rist-Goss ditch.

The Round Mountain Forest Health Demo. project is complete. BTWC and project partners successfully thinned 14+ acres of forest to pilot Big Thompson forest management techniques for wildfire risk reduction to our communities and resources.