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Apr 04
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Press Release: Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area Receives National Endowment for Humanities Grant

By Press Releases

FORT COLLINS, Colorado, April 9, 2024 — The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (Cache NHA) has been awarded a $24,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH) Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations Program for a two-year inclusive stories project to build interpretive capacity and conduct research to identify under told stories in historic collections and archives in the heritage area.

“We embrace the importance of culture to the people and places along the Cache la Poudre River and the inclusive nature of telling the stories of all people,” said Sabrina Stoker, executive director of the Cache NHA.

Part of this project provides funding for Cache NHA staff and partners to participate in a series of interpretation certificate programs with the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). The program will result in the NHA having two certified interpretive trainers to sustainably train volunteers and staff across heritage area and its partners in heritage interpretation. The National Association for Interpretation is an international professional organization based out of Fort Collins, Colorado, dedicated to advancing the profession of interpretation.

“We are beyond excited to continue the necessary work to ensure that the stories we tell of our heritage area fully reflect the diversity of experiences of its people, past and present, in all their complexity,” said Heidi Fuhrman, project director and heritage interpreter on staff. “There is much work to be done, but this is an important step towards making sure all individuals in our heritage area see their stories reflected in how we choose to talk about our past.”

The research phase of the project will focus on collections from regional repositories that document the legacy, history, and experiences of Hispanic and Latinx families, individuals, and communities within the heritage area. While seeking to better understand the diverse stories of Hispanic and Latinx heritage found within regional archives, the research will also result in creation of a regional research guide to Hispanic/Latinx collections that will support ongoing research and interpretation beyond the project lifespan.

Dr. Jared Orsi, Professor at Colorado State University and Director of the CSU Public and Environmental History Center, and Katie Ross, Curator of Collections at the City of Greeley Museums, will provide research support, background knowledge, and serve as scholars and historians on this project.

The NEH Public Impact Project at Smaller Organizations Grants Program supports America’s small and mid-sized cultural organizations, especially those from underserved communities, in enhancing their interpretive strategies and strengthening their public humanities programming. Cache NHA was one of twenty-eight organizations across the nation to receive this funding.

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ABOUT THE CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA: The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, managed by the Poudre Heritage Alliance, a regional non-profit, works to promote a variety of historical and cultural opportunities, engage people in the river corridor and inspire learning, preservation, and stewardship through collaborative partnerships and providing funding to community benefiting projects within the heritage area.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR HUMANITIES: Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web resource, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Jul 05
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Poudre Heritage Alliance Awards 2022 Community Grants

By News

Poudre Heritage Alliance is excited to support the following projects and activities that celebrate the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area through our community grants program:

 

The Five States of Colorado

For release in 2023, Colorado Humanities and Denver-based HaveyPro Cinema are producing a 90-minute documentary film, The Five States of Colorado. Designed for a wide range of audiences from elementary school-age to adults, the film will address the history and issues within five regions, or “states,” of Colorado to inform, educate, and serve as a basis for community and classroom discussion. Footage will include Learning in Our Watershed programming of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area. Post-production, it will be made available as a free, streaming video or download to every public school and academic library in Colorado.

Poudre River Trail Interpretive Signage

This project includes the design, fabrication, and installation of a new interpretive sign at the recently constructed trailhead at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley, Colorado.  This wayfinding node incorporates shade for visitor comfort.  The sign includes information on the history of Island Grove Park and the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area in English and Spanish.  The sign also incorporates historic images, illustrations of local plants and wildlife as well as a regional map of the Poudre Trail.

The Year of the River 2022

Wolverine Farm Publick House is hosting a 6-month celebration of the Cache la Poudre River.  This project invites the community to explore the Poudre River through the lens of creative interpretations from a dozen local artists outside and around the Publick House. Throughout the summer the Year of the River celebration will include pub talks, storytelling events, readings, performances and more.

Poudre River Trail-athon

If it’s an adventure you’re looking for this summer, then check out the 2022 Poudre River Trail-athlon. From June 1-August 1, pick up a free Trail-athlon Adventure Kit available at area libraries. In the kit, you will find ten adventure activities to choose from including a trail journal, take-and-make project, a scavenger hunt, biking, hiking, crafting, and more. The more activities you complete, the more points you earn toward prizes. It’s fun for the whole family!

Life Jacket Loaner Station at Horsetooth Reservoir

This program aims to increase life jacket wear during water-based activities by educating the public about the importance of using a life jacket and how to properly wear and use a life jacket. The Drennon’s Dreams Foundation Life Jacket Loaner Stations will provide the public with free use of life jackets on a first-come, first-served basis, while recreating at Horsetooth Reservoir in alignment with Poudre Heritage Alliance’s Play it Safe program.

If you have questions about these projects, grants, or the Poudre Heritage Alliance, contact bbullard@poudreheritage.org.

Jun 09
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PHA Awards More Than $35,000 To Large Grant Recipients

By News

The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA) and the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) has awarded several local projects with funds from the 2021 large grants cycle. The newest projects include “The Hand That Feeds” Sculpture Monument, a Poudre Basin Information Website, Watering the West. Other projects that will be continued from last year’s grant cycle but were put on hold due to COVD-19 will continue work this year. This includes the Eaton House and the Jacoby Halfway House Site. The total of awards being distributed is more than $35,000 out of PHA’s budget, which largely comes from federal funding sources. See below for descriptions of the newest projects:

 

Watering the West 

Watering the West enlightens audiences about water issues in the American West: past, present, and future: where the water comes from, where it goes and how it gets there; the unique nature of western water law and its origins, and how growing populations and a changing climate will impact a diverse group of water users that rely on the rivers that deliver the mountain snow that makes the American West habitable. Through personal stories from city planners, farmers and ranchers, recreators and ecologists, brewers and water resource managers with the Poudre River as our backdrop, we explore transmountain and local diversions; storage projects and farms; water court and water auctions, water measurement and delivery, a backcountry river journey; and the listening sessions, council meetings and forums where opinions divide neighbors, towns, and industry leaders. The films introduce us to the people and programs that aim for listening, connection, and cooperation, to those who seek to replace divisiveness with collaboration as the American West moves into a future of increasingly scarce water supplies. From past to present and with an animation of the 1874 dispute between Union Colony and Fort Collins farmers that nearly turned violent to the 1986 re- enactment of a water broker purchasing a farm with water rights to secure water for the City of Thornton to an animated song which teaches the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation, WATERING the WEST educates, entertains and presents a case for cooperation around one of the most pressing issues of our time. 

 

“The Hand That Feeds” Sculptural Monument 

A Sculptural Monument designed to preserve and honor the rich family history and significant contributions of the Mexican and Hispanic people who worked the beet fields of northern Colorado. Located in Fort Collins Sugar Beet Park on a city-designed plaza, an interpretive storyboard and educational programs will enable visitors and students to understand their impact on our community. Mujeres de Colores is fundraising to underwrite the project with support from community partners and committed individuals with a goal to complete the monument by October 2021 with unveiling during Hispanic Heritage Month. 

 

Poudre Basic Information Website 

The Poudre Basin Information website project is a cross-jurisdictional information website for the Poudre Basin, focusing on topics that have a nexus with water issues. The funds from this large grant will focus on integrating data and information related to Poudre Heritage Alliance themes, including historical data about water infrastructure and use, connections to water law and administration, issues related to water demand and supply, and providing data and information to reduce conflict and increase cooperation. An initial implementation of the website can be found at http://poudre.openwaterfoundation.org/. This website is an open source community resource that can be used by organizations, decision makers, and the public to better understand water issues in the basin. Many organizations provide useful datasets and informational content.  However, it can be difficult to find and use information. The Poudre Basin Information website serves as a regional resource to support education and decision making. The website provides information about entities in the basin, including municipalities and water providers, ditch companies, environmental organizations, education organizations, and many other datasets.  The information is organized spatially and temporally to provide context for basin entities, current conditions, historical data, seasonal outlook, and future planning, involving over 70 maps and associated data visualizations when fully implemented.   

 

If you have a project that needs funding, we still have small grants available on a rolling basis. Check out our grants page for more information. If you have questions about these projects, grants, or the Poudre Heritage Alliance, contact communications@poudreheritage.org.

May 21
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Guest Blog: PHA Grant Helps Give UNC Students Practical Skills & Experience in Water Quality Monitoring

By News

by Alexi Richmond, UNC Undergraduate in Earth Sciences (Class of 2020)

The opportunity to do field work in an undergrad degree is varied and not many students get to assist in research or field work unless it is a requirement of a class. I have been really fortunate to assist my professor this past year and help set up a baseline analysis for future long-term monitoring of the Poudre River in Greeley.

Through this I have learned more skills/practical experience than my whole undergraduate degree combined. I’ve gotten to use devices I never even thought of using such as an GPS, RTK, Flow Meter and of course processing data with Excel. I didn’t realize there was equipment that could calculate such things as measuring cross sections in not only latitude and longitude but as well as elevation so we could see a horizontal view. I also didn’t realize there was such a thing as a flow meter in which it measures the discharge of water; an entire volume of water that moves every second! In class, we had calculated relative discharge with a ping pong ball and a stopwatch and at the time I thought that was just how you took measurements but using the flow meter was a whole other story. It is so much more accurate and it calculates discharge for you which is amazing. It gave me a different perspective on water movement and I feel seeing and doing it first hand I understand the importance of the Poudre River better with how much discharge is even at low flow times.

Throughout this entire project I have come to better understand my local river system and its importance to Northern Colorado. Using equipment has also given me a new perspective through finding how much fun and important collecting data on major rivers can be; possibly giving me a new direction with my degree. I can’t express how grateful I feel to be able to gain skills and experience using real equipment while being able to participate in research, all in my undergrad degree.

River Bluffs Open Space in Windsor, CO is one of the study sites for the UNC Water Quality Monitoring Project on the Poudre River.

 

About the PHA Grant – “UNC Water Quality Monitoring Project”

The lower Poudre River has experienced long-term channel changes associated with land-use practices and flow regulation. At River Bluffs Open Space, Larimer County has partnered with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed to hire Stillwater Sciences to restore a 5 km section of river reach. Goals include reconnecting the river with its floodplain and increasing disturbance, good for habitat development. At the Poudre Learning Center (PLC), the PLC has acquisitioned new land adjacent to the river. The PLC plans to use the property for research, education, outreach, and as community open space. PI and collaborators have installed water-quality monitoring equipment, including turbidity that measures water clarity―a proxy for fine sediment suspension―at each site. Comparing the dynamics of fine-sediment at these two sites provides the opportunity to link information about how two contrasting stream reaches are changing through time as a result of differential influences.

The project takes place at River Bluffs Open Space (Larimer County) and the Poudre Learning Center (Weld County). Fine-sediment dynamics influence channel adjustments that can cause flooding or harm aquatic habitat, and is therefore considered a pollutant under the US Clean Water Act. Project goals include 1) training students in water quality measurements and analysis; 2) establishing long-term monitoring stations at two contrasting Poudre River reaches; 3) using water-quality data to understand dynamics of fine sediment; 4) sharing data and results with stakeholders and the community to increase awareness of linkages between land-use/management and river health. This project contributes to PHA’s vision of placing our water management heritage in the context of current management challenges, including multiple stakeholders and uses.

To learn more about the Poudre Heritage Alliance Grant Program and grant award history please visit: https://poudreheritage.org/grant-award-history/

Jan 09
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Field Trip Scholarships Still Available for K-12 Classes to Visit CALA

By News

The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) and the nonprofit managing entity—the Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA)—received a $9,000 Open Outdoors for Kids grant for the 2019-2020 school year from the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. The NPF grant supports PHA’s Learning in Our Watershed™ program, which provides scholarships to schools in Larimer and Weld county to visit various locations throughout the CALA.

This grant from NPF is part of their Open OutDoors for Kids program, which creates pathways for kids to explore and connect with national park experiences. It is made possible through generous support of partners including Union Pacific Railroad and donors across the country.

Through this partnership with NPF, PHA will be able to provide scholarships that defray transportation and admission costs for approximately 25 schools and 3,000 children during the 2019-2020 school year. The field trip grants are still available on a first come, first served basis through PHA’s website: https://poudreheritage.org/field-trip-grants/.

Scholarship priority is given to 4th grade classrooms and Title I schools. Popular destinations within the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area include the Poudre Learning Center, Children’s Water Festivals in Greeley and Fort Collins, Centennial Village in Greeley, and the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. The Poudre Heritage Alliance also offers guided wellness walks as a way to explore the heritage area through this program.

A 4th grade teacher from Bauder Elementary had this to say about the Learning in Our Watershed program: “Your donation to fund this trip made it possible for our kids to only pay half the admission. As a Title I school, getting these kids real life experience is so important. Because of you we made that possible. Thank you.”

These initiatives are coordinated alongside the Department of the Interior’s Every Kid Outdoors program. The ​Every Kid Outdoors​ annual pass provides fourth grade students, along with their families, friends and classmates, free access to National Park sites​, along with more than 2,000 other federal recreation areas for a year. The Every Kid Outdoors Program encourages fourth graders to explore, learn, and recreate in spectacular settings, including national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, and forests.

To obtain the free pass, fourth grade students visit the ​Every Kid Outdoors website​, participate in a short educational activity, and download a voucher. The voucher is valid for multiple use between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 to correspond to the traditional school year. The voucher may be exchanged for a plastic keepsake pass at participating federal lands.

The Every Kid Outdoors Program was established by Congress in 2019. It replaces the Every Kid in a Park Program which was launched in 2015. It is an interagency collaboration between the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation,  Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Forest Service.

Sep 03
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Learning in Our Watershed

Learning in Our Watershed Field Trip Grant Application Now Open!

By News

The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA) is now accepting applications for its 2019-2020 field trip grant program, Learning in Our Watershed! With funding partners like the National Park Foundation, PHA is very excited to expand this program and provide additional resources to program participants.

Interested parties will need to submit their application online: https://poudreheritage.org/field-trip-grants/. Priority is still based on first come-first serve requests, so make sure to apply at least three weeks in advance of your trip. However, because of grant requirements, Title I schools and fourth grade classes will be considered first for funding.

Popular field trip locations include the Poudre Learning Center, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Children’s Water Festivals, and Centennial Village. Check out out the program page online for more information, including guided tour options along the Poudre Trail that highlight the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area itself.

PHA looks forward to partnering with your school while promoting programs that introduce local youth to the river and the area’s heritage. Contact Jordan Williams at programs@poudreheritage.org if you have further questions, or call 970-295-4851.

Mar 26
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Fort Fund Awards Grant to Poudre Pour

By News

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The first annual Poudre Pour has been awarded a $4,250 Fort Fund (City of Fort Collins) grant to support the event in 2018. The Poudre Heritage Alliance and BreWater are partnering to host the Poudre Pour, an educational celebration of “Good Water = Good Beer!” from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at the Carnegie Center for Creativity, 200 Mathews St, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The Poudre Pour will highlight water and the importance of the Cache la Poudre River to more than 634,000[i] Coloradoans living in Larimer and Weld Counties. The event focuses on craft brews and the major ingredient that makes the stouts, lagers and ales so tasty…WATER from the Poudre River!

This family-friendly event is not your typical brewfest! The Poudre Pour includes an afternoon of fun and learning with 11 craft beer tasting stations from brewers such as New Belgium, Horse & Dragon, Intersect, Soul Squared, Gilded Goat, Purpose, Odell, Coopersmiths, Maxline, Jessup Farm, and Rally King; appetizers such as Noosa yoghurts, Nanga chocolates, pretzels with beer-cheese dip and a S’more pit for kids; special presentations such as the trailer release of “The Power of Place” movie and a panel speaking about “A River of Many Uses”; kid activities such as “fishing” and t-shirt printing; live entertainment from Beth’s Studio; art exhibitions from local photographers and Windsor Charter Academy; and a silent auction featuring trips, treats, tickets and more!

Proceeds will benefit the Poudre Heritage Alliance, managing entity of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area – working to PROMOTE a variety of historical and cultural opportunities, ENGAGE people in their river corridor and INSPIRE learning, preservation, and stewardship.

The event is enabled through the generous support of in-kind donations and sponsorships that make it possible to both celebrate and educate about our most important resource – water.

Poudre Pour sponsors to date include:  BreWater, City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, 105.5 The Colorado Sound, KUNC Radio, Beth Studio, Bohemian Foundation, Scene Magazine, Downtown Development Authority, JAX Mercantile, Shirazi Benefits, Clear Water Solutions, Von Trotha-Firestien Historic Farm, Encompass Technologies, Dellenbach Motors, The Windsor-Severance Historical Society, Sign-a-rama, Citizen Printing, Noosa Yoghurts, Nanga Chocolate and Rocky Mountain Soda Company.

The Poudre Heritage Alliance and community partners are joining to celebrate the wonder of water and protect our water heritage for this and future generations!

Tickets to the Poudre Pour are limited and MUST be purchased in advance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poudre-pour-tickets-39525190910

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ABOUT THE CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA AND THE POUDRE HERITAGE ALLIANCE

The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) tells the story of the river where Western Water Law began and still informs the use of water throughout the arid West today.  CALA shares the long struggle to sustain a viable agricultural economy, and meet the growing needs of a diverse and expanding population, while conserving the Poudre River’s health.

CALA’s 501(c)3 nonprofit managing entity – the Poudre Heritage Alliance – PROMOTES a variety of historical and cultural opportunities; ENGAGES people in their river corridor; and INSPIRES learning, preservation, and stewardship. Find out more at:  https://poudreheritage.org/

ABOUT BREWATER

BreWater brings together breweries in the greater Fort Collins area to discuss local water issues, to bring community members together, to encourage water education, and to protect the quality of our most important resource: water.

Find out more at: https://brewater.com/

[i] According to the US Census Bureau as of July 1, 2016 the population in Larimer County, CO totaled 339,993, and the population in Weld County totaled 294,932.

Jan 15
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Poudre Heritage Alliance Now Accepting 2018 Grant Applications

By News

The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA) and the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) are now accepting 2018 grant applications. Other non-profits, government entities, and small businesses can go online to submit their applications: https://poudreheritage.org/grant-information/. The closing date for applications is March 2, 2018, with award decisions by May 2018. See below for more information about grant projects from 2017:

Historic Windmill Installation: Centennial Village Museum, established as a Centennial-Bicentennial community project in 1976 adjacent to Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley, CO, was designed as a living history site to interpret the architectural and cultural heritage of Greeley, Weld County and northeastern Colorado, The Historic Windmill project would repair and re-install a Steel Eclipse Type WG (worm gear) Fairbanks-Morse and Company windmill that includes a stock tank with a recirculating water system in the High Plains section of the Village. The windmill interprets the delivery of water for domestic use, stock raising, and irrigating crops in the rural irrigated and dryland districts of Weld County. An interpretive panel adjacent to the windmill plus curriculum materials for presentations at the annual spring and fall History festivals at the Village will be developed as a part of this project.

Proving-up House Restoration: Saved from demolition in 2005, the City of Fort Collins moved the historic 1890 James Ross “proving-up” house to storage until an appropriate permanent placement for educational purposes could be found. The only documented proving-up house known to exist in Larimer County, the Ross House has survived for 127 years. The Homestead Act of 1862 was adopted to get vast government lands west of the Mississippi into private hands for settlement and development. The Act mandated homesteaders had to build a small dwelling, live in it, improve the land, and after five years, for an $18 filing fee, they owned that quarter section of land. These houses, sometimes called “claim or filing shanties” often had no foundation and were portable, to be able to “prove-up” other holdings. Last fall, the Ross House was relocated to The Farm at Lee Martinez Park along the Cache la Poudre River in Fort Collins, where it will be restored and interpreted for the enjoyment and education of all citizens.

Nature Rides Program: The Growing Project (TGP) developed a new, educational program that connects youth from The Boys and Girls Club to natural areas in Northwest Fort Collins for activities related to the watershed and local ecology with Growing Project educators and experts. TGP worked with Bike Fort Collins and the Bike Co-op to secure bikes and bicycle education for youth participants to ride from their facilities to the natural areas with TGP staff. Part of programming included occasional service days through a partnership with The City of Fort Collins that involved cleanup efforts in local natural areas and while learning about river health from City experts. Youth were also able to invite family members on these rides.

H20 Today Exhibition: “H2O Today” at the Greeley History Museum dives into what it means to live on a planet where 71 percent of the surface is covered in water, yet less than 3 percent is drinkable. The exhibition highlights the crucial role it plays in daily life through water power, industry, agriculture and home use. The “H2O Today” exhibition is part of the Smithsonian’s Think Water Initiative to raise awareness of water as a critical resource for life through exhibitions, educational resources and public programs. The exhibit runs through May 20, 2018.

***Picture above taken by the Growing Project staff during a Nature Rides program along the Poudre River

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