Flowing Together ~ Community, Sustainability, & Stream Health
The Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership is a Colorado nonprofit corporation that is comprised of community-based stakeholders in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The WEP's current focus is developing and implementing cooperative, sustainable restoration projects that benefit multiple water uses within the Upper San Juan River Basin.
The WEP's activities began in 2018 as a working group convened to guide and inform a watershed assessment of the Upper San Juan River Basin above Pagosa Springs, the Navajo, and the Blanco River basins.
The WEP then worked with community members to interpret the findings from the assessment and identify coordinated opportunities to benefit agricultural, environmental, municipal, and recreation water users outlined in an Integrated Water Management Plan (IWMP). The process was completed in early 2022, and the WEP was incorporated as a Colorado nonprofit in 2023 to steward the implementation of identified projects.
The WEP is awaiting its 501(c)(3) status, but has already partnered with both Trout Unlimited and The Town of Pagosa Springs as fiscal sponsors to launch the first two watershed improvement projects.