Megan Maiolo-Heath -- Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed & Poudre River Fest!

EDDY OUT

--->Support the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed!! Email Megan at [e-mail] and Follow them on Social Media! @poudrewatershed
--->Support the Poudre River Fest! Visit Website and click on the link "Get Involved" and follow them on Social Media! @poudreriverfest

--->Attend the Festival! Save the Date! August 21st at New Belgium Brewery!

--->Shout out to Lara Smedley. The Poudre River Event Coordinator with her business Smedley Events

Meet Megan Maiolo-Heath

-Grew up in Monument, Colorado and always loved the outdoors

-Attended CU Boulder for her Undergrad in Psychology

-Attended University of Colorado Denver for her Masters in Public Administration

-Became a raft guide on Clear Creek. Where she developed her confidence, obsession and love for rivers

-After working in Ecuador, she realized there that she wanted to fight for the river

-Lives in Ft. Collins now

MEGAN'S NON PROFIT HISTORY/CONNECTION

-7 years ago Megan started working for Trees, Water & People Non Profit before landing at CPRW (Coalition for Poudre River Watershed)

-2012/2013 Hyde Park Fire happened which lead to creating the "Coalition for the Hyde Park Fire" to address post fire mitigation and restoration work. Trees, Water and People was the fiscal sponsor for that until they became the official Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed 501c3.

-She started as a board member for CPRW, later consulted and then at the end of 2020, she applied and got the Communications Outreach and Marketing Manager Position.

GET TO KNOW THE POUDRE RIVER WATERSHED

-Headwaters are at Poudre Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

-3 Major Tributaries but the main stem comes out of RMNP

-Large area covers about 1900 sq/miles

-Upper Poudre has 75 miles of Wild & Scenic River

-Lower Poudre is designated as a National Heritage Area (for its importance in the development of the Western Water Law)

-Flows into the South Platte Basin (Greeley,CO)

-Covers so much terrain (Head waters up in the High Mountains of RMNP, to Poudre Canyon to Ft. Collins, to plains through Winsor, into Greeley and ending in the Platte River)

-Hard Working River providing so much water to agriculture and 300,000 people in the front range

Story behind the name- French Trappers caught in a snow storm back in the early 1800's. Stashed a bunch their stuff including their gunpowder...hence the name..."Cache Le Poudre". "Stash the Powder".

Native American History- was a meeting place for several tribes in the west. Learn more at PoudreHeritage.org

Other Non Profits helping protect the Poudre River

1. National Heritage Area- Managed by the Poudre Heritage Alliance
2. Save the Poudre- Focused on water infrastructure, dams and reservoirs
3. Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW)- Focused on collaborative approach to Watershed management and Forest and River Restoration

CPRW-Mission to improve and maintain the ecological health of the Poudre River Watershed through "Community Collaboration"

REQUEST FROM THE CPRW

1. Learn more about your local watershed and water law!
2. Get involved! Support CPRW with your money, time and more education!
3. Practice Water Conservation
   1. Install a rain barrel
   2. Change out part of your lawn for xeriscape (check in and see if you can apply for a rebate!)
   3. Low flow toilets and shower heads (check in and see if you can apply for a rebate!)
4. Collaborate & Support the CPRW or the Poudre River with:
   1. In Kind Donations
   2. Donate
   3. Volunteer
   4. Give Percentage of Profits for one day, one product, or a new product

POUDRE RIVER FESTIVAL HISTORY & DETAILS

First festival was May of 2014 after the massive floods of 2013. Bring people together to better understand the river, celebrate and raise funds for flood, forest and river restoration projects.

3 GOALS

1. Education
2. Celebration
3. Restorations

Meet the 6 Organizations that created the Poudre River Fest!

1. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
2. National Association for Interpretation
3. Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
4. Cache Le Poudre River National Heritage Area
5. City Of Fort Collins
6. Coalition for the Poudre River Festival (CPRW)

*Huge Shout out to all of the Breweries in Colorado taking action and getting involved!

2021 HYBRID Poudre River Fest Schedule

1. May 7th -- Virtual Event focused around Wildlife
2. June 25th -- Virtual Event focused on Recreation
3. July 15th -- Virtual & In Person Event focused around Every Day Water
4. August 21st -- Big Celebration in person event at New Belgium Brewery