The State of Colorado's Watersheds Report 2005

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The National Watershed Health Project (NWHP) is managed by Riv- er Network at the national level, ad- ministered by Trees, Water & People (TWP) within Colorado and is primar- ily funded by the Environmental Pro- tection Agency (EPA). It is aimed at building up the capacity of watershed groups to take on projects that will improve water quality. In Colorado, this is being achieved by providing watershed groups with a variety of organizational, scientific and regula- tory training, coaching and other as- sistance. In 2005, TWP has been focus- ing on assisting watershed groups by helping them develop more effective fundraising approaches, increasing their scientific skills and providing training for their Board of Directors. TWP has also been providing fundrais- ing and organizational development assistance to the Colorado Watershed Assembly (CWA) as it brought on a new Executive Director and began the process of defining her role within the Colorado watershed community. As part of its increased capabil- ity, CWA will begin to provide and /or coordinate more of the training ser- vices provided to Colorado watershed groups. This will begin by CWA tak- ing the lead role on the National Wa- tershed Health Project starting in the next federal fiscal year (i.e. October 1, 2005). Trees, Water & People will continue to be a significant partner in the project and provide many of the training services, but will do so through CWA. The Assembly will take on re- sponsibility for distributing, gathering and evaluating the NWHP's annual Skills Assessment Surveys and will work with the watershed groups, TWP and other service providers to deter- mine the optimum blend of training services that will be provided during the 2005 -2006 contract year. There is also a positive expan- sion happening at the national level. While the National Watershed Health Project is a specific effort funded by the EPA, River Network has recently made a long -term commitment to pro- viding expanded training services to watershed groups across the nation watershed news by establishing the Watershed Support Network (WSN). While the EPA has funded NWHP for another year, the ongoing national effort headed up by River Network will slowly evolve into the ongoing Watershed Support Net- work. So ... lots of changes and expan- sion ... but all for the good! The best news is that Colorado can anticipate receiving funding for the next several years that will help all our watershed groups get stronger, raise more funds and be better trained to work with data and the regulations that impact our watersheds and the quality of our water. Richard Fox teaching capacity- building workshop Colorado can anticipate receiving funding for the next several years that will help all our watershed groups get stronger,