The San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) will host a public premiere of “In Between Water and Fire” on Tuesday, May 20, at the Pagosa Lodge, 3505 W. U.S. 160.
The doors will open at 5:30.
Various organizations with specialized points of view about our community’s water supply, forest health, wildfire preparedness and related issues will host tabletop exhibits before the films begin about 6:30 p.m.
Expected to join the conversations are Wildfire Adapted Partnership, Weminuche Audubon, Mountain Studies Institute, San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, 2-3-2 Cohesive Strategy Partnership, Trout Unlimited, Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership and the SJWCD.
The SJWCD invites guests to enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres during the early networking time. A cash bar will offer soft drinks, beer and wine. The SJWCD cannot accept credit cards, so please bring cash. Proceeds offset the costs of producing the public event.
In 2024, the SJWCD partnered with the Colorado Water Conservation Board to produce three short films about the headwaters of the San Juan River.
The San Juan watershed supplies water from snowmelt to our forest, our local riparian habitats and our municipal drinking water.
The three films are “The Value of Snow,” “The Waterways that Connect Us” and “In Between Fire and Water.” The first two films can be accessed now on www.sjwcd.org. The third film will be available on the SJWCD website after its debut.
“In Between Water and Fire” is the latest film by documentarian Christi Bode. Bode has written and produced several films about our water in southwest Colorado in recent years. Her work provides invaluable information about our warmer and drier future in Archuleta County.
Appearing in the third film are Jonathan Coop, fire ecologist; Lea Knutson, Hermits Peak Watershed Alliance; JR Ford, Renewable Forest Energy LLC; and Tim Montgomery, city manager for Las Vegas, N.M. Each shares personal experiences relevant to the conversation about the SJWCD.
According to Bode, “… headwater systems can do everything that humans try to recreate in our treatment plants and reservoirs. … And to the extent that we can support them, our watershed will take care of us.”
All three SJWCD short films will be shown on Tuesday evening. Following the debut of “In Between Water and Fire,” a panel of water experts and local professionals will explain the relevance of their work. Expected to join the conversation are Josh Peck, U.S. Forest Service; Bill Trimarco, Wildfire Adapted Partnership; Alex Handloff, San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership and 2-3-2; Mike Le Roux, Archuleta County sheriff; and the SJWCD.
Opportunities for valuable networking will follow the films and panel discussion. Guests are invited to bring their questions and to share food and drink, while continuing to share opinions about the future of the Archuleta County water supply. There is no charge for the SJWCD film event.
