On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP) is asking the community to stand with us for Colorado Gives Day.
Your donation, no matter the size, directly supports watershed health, community safety, agricultural needs and river recreation across the Upper San Juan Basin.
And this year, your support couldn’t be more important.
The WEP is a Pagosa Springs-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in 2023 after several years of collaborative planning among local water users, conservation groups, landowners and agencies. Our mission is simple: to collaboratively implement projects that benefit watershed function and health, river-related recreation and irrigated agriculture throughout the San Juan, Blanco and Navajo River watersheds.
The WEP is governed by a volunteer board representing a broad range of water interests: environmental, recreational, agricultural, municipal and community. We partner closely with groups such as the Town of Pagosa Springs, The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Trout Unlimited, the San Juan Water Conservancy District, the San Juan Conservation District, agricultural users, Southwestern Water Conservation District, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and many more.
What we do and why it matters
Our work grew out of a multi-year, stakeholder-driven Integrated Water Management Plan that identified 25 high-value projects across the watershed. The number of projects since then have grown.
These projects focus on:
• Watershed function and health: improved river function, riparian restoration, water-quality improvements, fish habitat, bank stabilization and natural water storage.
• River-related recreation: safer and improved access for boating, tubing, fishing, birding, photography and riverfront enjoyment.
• Irrigated agriculture: strengthening agricultural irrigation infrastructure, improving water delivery efficiency and supporting the ecological benefits tied to working lands.
Water from the Upper San Juan River is vital to our towns, ranches, farms and recreation economy. However, it faces growing pressures from drought, warming temperatures, increased wildfire risk and extreme runoff events, and needs assistance in meeting these pressures.
A community still
recovering: the recent San Juan River flooding
The recent flooding along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, a powerful event peaking above 8,000 cubic feet per second, was a stark reminder of how vulnerable our river corridor can be.
The Pagosa Gateway River Project was one of the affected areas, a 2-mile stretch currently under construction to improve channel stability, improve habitat, increase safety, enhance recreational experiences, revitalize riparian areas and improve the long-term health of the river.
Fortunately, the flood came during the early phases of construction and most of the installed work held strong through the event, which is a testament to the need and effectiveness of this type of river restoration work. Yet the surge revealed immediate needs. The river carved new channels, deposited massive cobble bars and carried down large debris, including car bodies, trees and even a fully intact cabin from upstream. Some of the riverbanks were severely eroded or completely gone.
The WEP moved quickly, working with our design-build engineering team to reassess conditions, redesign features where necessary and prioritize areas that now pose safety risks or threaten surrounding properties. Even with the unexpected damage, the original goals of the gateway project remain firmly in place. The work is still in progress with the hopes of finishing early 2026.
Events like this underscore an important fact: Investing in watershed resilience isn’t optional; it’s essential, and our community depends on this work.
Your support makes this possible
Colorado Gives Day is an opportunity to directly support local, on-the-ground watershed improvements that safeguard the places we all rely on. Every dollar helps the WEP continue implementing high-priority projects, like Pagosa gateway, and supporting long-term watershed health.
The work we do is vital not only for the river’s ecological health but also for sustaining the community’s economy and quality of life.
How to give
• Online: UpperSanJuanWEP.com.
• Mail: Upper San Juan WEP, P.O. Box 3238, Pagosa Springs, CO 81157.
Your generosity strengthens the health of the San Juan River, supports local agriculture, enhancing recreation opportunities and protects the community we all care about.
This Colorado Gives Day, please consider supporting the WEP. Together, we can build a more resilient future for our rivers, our town and our watershed.
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