Save the Poudre

What Save the Poudre does

Save The Poudre is a 501c3 nonprofit river-conservation organization (IRS #47-1936330) founded in 2004 and based in Boulder, Colorado, focused on protecting and restoring the Cache la Poudre River in northern Colorado. The organization operates two principal advocacy campaigns — River Restoration and the Halligan Expansion campaign — and runs grassroots community organizing, including river patrols, monitoring of local government meetings, and public education around dam, diversion, and pipeline projects. Its most consequential action was the February 2025 $100 million settlement agreement with NISP Enterprise, which established the Poudre River Improvement Fund to be administered jointly by appointees from Save The Poudre and NISP over 15 years; the organization does not receive any of those settlement funds.

The organization is led by Director Gary Wockner, a PhD-level ecological scientist and activist, with board chair Mark Easter, a retired Colorado State University plant ecologist and co-founder. Revenue is generated exclusively through voluntary individual donations via PayPal, mailed checks, and Colorado Gives Day. There is no proprietary technology platform, API, or software product; the core "outputs" are legal advocacy, community mobilization, and policy influence. Effective January 2026, Save The Poudre is legally merging into Save The World's Rivers alongside Save The Colorado, becoming a program of that parent nonprofit while continuing to operate its own website, brand, and donor relationships.

Name

Save the Poudre

Legal name

Save The Poudre

Website

https://savethepoudre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Save The Poudre is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2004 that protects and restores Colorado's Cache la Poudre River through grassroots advocacy, litigation, and community organizing, funded by individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Advocacy & River Conservation

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• River conservation advocacy
• Watershed restoration
• Environmental nonprofit
• Water policy litigation
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization raises funds through voluntary donations from supporters and members. Donations are tax-deductible (IRS 501c3 #47-1936330). Accepts online payments via PayPal and mailed checks.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Save The Poudre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advocates for the protection and ecological restoration of the Cache la Poudre River in northern Colorado. It runs advocacy campaigns against dam, diversion, and pipeline projects (including the Halligan Expansion campaign), pursues litigation and regulatory engagement, mobilizes grassroots volunteers, and stewards a $100 million Poudre River Improvement Fund (PRIF) created through its 2025 settlement with NISP Enterprise. The organization solicits tax-deductible donations to support these activities.

Product overview

Save The Poudre is a non-profit river conservation organization (a program of Save The World's Rivers) that operates as a single unified advocacy organization focused on protecting the Cache la Poudre River. The organization runs two main campaigns: the River Restoration campaign and the Halligan Expansion campaign. Through a landmark settlement with NISP Enterprise, the organization manages the $100 million Poudre River Improvement Fund to improve the river. The organization has a vision to create a Poudre River Water Trail for recreational use. Save The Poudre does not offer a software product, API, or technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Halligan Expansion Campaign
• River Restoration Campaign Campaign focused on restoring the Cache la Poudre River through floodplain protection, dam removal, whitewater park construction, youth education, and instream flow promotion. Targeted at river supporters, recreationists, and local communities in northern Colorado.

Quantifiable outcome

• $100 million secured for Poudre River Improvement Fund to improve river from Gateway Park to confluence with South Platte (~50 river miles)

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NISP EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2025Settlement agreement partner in which NISP Enterprise will pay $100 million over 15 years into the Poudre River Improvement Fund in exchange for Save The Poudre ending its 20-year opposition and lawsuit against NISP. Save The Poudre appoints 3 members to the Fund Committee.
• Community Foundation of Northern ColoradocoreOthersHolds the $100 million Poudre River Improvement Fund in trust. The Fund is managed by a committee with 3 appointees from Save The Poudre and 3 from NISP Enterprise.
• Poudre Heritage ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the Poudre River Forum where Gary Wockner and Brad Wind (Northern Water) spoke together about the $100 million settlement and river improvement.
• Eubanks & Associates, PLLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm representing Save The Poudre in the NISP settlement and litigation matters.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Western Resource Advocates: Western U.S. environmental advocacy organization focused on water, rivers, and energy in the same Colorado River system. Comparable regional scope, policy and legal advocacy approach, and reliance on donations and grants.
• Colorado Water Trust: Colorado-based nonprofit focused on restoring flows to the state's rivers through water-rights transactions and instream flow programs. Operates in the same Poudre/Colorado geography with a comparable nonprofit, donation-and-grant funding model.
• Save The World's Rivers: Parent nonprofit of Save The Poudre effective January 2026. Operates the same donor-driven, advocacy-first model with an explicit global scope. Becoming part of this entity makes it both the parent and the closest comparable organization in mission and operating approach.
• Save The Colorado: Colorado-focused river-conservation nonprofit that is merging into the same parent (Save The World's Rivers). Same founder/director (Gary Wockner), identical grassroots and donation-based operating model, parallel campaigns against dams and diversions, making it the closest direct peer.

Broad incumbents

• Sierra Club: One of the largest U.S. environmental organizations with active Colorado chapters opposing dams and diversions. Shares the broad advocacy and litigation playbook but operates at vastly greater scale and across many issue areas.
• National Wildlife Federation: National conservation organization advocating for wildlife and habitat, including riparian and aquatic ecosystems. Comparable in mission scope around rivers and ecological health, but with a much broader advocacy portfolio and larger donor base.
• Trout Unlimited: National coldwater-fisheries conservation nonprofit with extensive Colorado chapter activity. Overlaps on river restoration, dam-related advocacy, and recreational use cases central to Save The Poudre's mission, but with a much larger membership base.
• American Rivers: The largest U.S. river-conservation nonprofit with national reach. Directly comparable mission (protecting and restoring rivers) and similar policy/advocacy approach, but operates at a national scale across many river systems rather than a single watershed.

Regional players

• Poudre Heritage Project: Northern Colorado nonprofit dedicated to the Cache la Poudre National Heritage Area. Co-organized the Poudre River Forum with Save The Poudre and works on overlapping watershed and recreational themes within the same geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• The Conservation Fund: U.S. nonprofit that works at the intersection of conservation, land protection, and partnership with infrastructure and water projects. Comparable in being a nonprofit working on western water/land projects with multi-stakeholder partnership models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/savethepoudre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBtckZ75A5LX2Fj9-udTk5g
• Facebookfacebook.com/SaveThePoudre
• Instagraminstagram.com/Save.The.Poudre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/save-the-poudre---poudre-watekeeper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Save the Poudre