For the second year, the Save the Colorado River Campaign Fund has made donations to 15 environmental groups up and down the basin – from Denver to Las Vegas to San Diego – to help protect and restore the Colorado River. This year’s funding mostly focuses on efforts to promote and enhance water conservation in municipalities throughout the basin. The river’s water supplies are being stretched thin, and the river itself has been stretched beyond the breaking point – although 2011 was a historic year for the amount of runoff in the basin, the Colorado River’s 5 trillion gallons of water were once again drained completely out and never reached the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
The Colorado River, regulated by “The Law of the River,” which was established in 1922, has long been over allocated. With thousands of users ranging from industrial and commercial to municipal and recreational there are countless opportunities to conserve. The recipients of the Save the Colorado River Campaign Fund are advocacy groups along the river basin dedicated to protecting this vital resource.
“Everyone in the Colorado River basin needs to conserve more water,” said Gary Wockner, Coordinator for the Save the Colorado River Campaign. “These environmental groups are doing an excellent job at educating the public and policymakers about the need for more water conservation so that people and businesses, as well as the river itself, can thrive in the future.”
Fifteen organizations in total received funds from the Colorado River Campaign Fund. Of note, renowned filmmaker Pete McBride received support to promote his new documentary film, “Chasing Water,” which has received a number of recent awards including “Best Documentary” at The Clearwater Film Festival and “Best in Category” at the CINE International Film Festival as well as being a finalist in several upcoming film festivals.
The Save the Colorado River Campaign is led by New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado. The Campaign Fund is further supported by donations from Patagonia, Clif Bar & Company, Kenney Brothers Foundation, Teva, National Geographic, Environment Now, and The Environment Foundation. Save the Colorado is a Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, a 501c3 charitable organization. For more information on the Save the Colorado River Campaign or to donate, visit their website at SaveTheColorado.Org.