When the Town learned about and eventually embraced the Rights of Nature, it was presented to the Town of Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board and later to the community and the Town of Nederland Board of Trustees as means of affirming the Town’s longstanding commitment to the environment and a process to help inform the Town’s decision-making related to potential impacts on the environment — not as means for an outside organization to challenge the Town’s decisions through expensive litigation. The Town’s commitment to the environment and informed decision making remains one of our very top priorities.

However, it has become clear that the Rights of Nature Resolution as tied to Save the World’s Rivers is not the right mechanism to deliver those priorities for the Town. Rights of Nature was “sold” to the Town by Gary Wockner and his organizations (Save the Colorado and Save the Poudre; now Save the World’s Rivers) as a tool to assist the Town to make environmentally informed decisions. The Town had only recently implemented this process by appointing Guardians to generate a productive environmental dialogue.

Recently, when Save the World’s Rivers filed a statement of opposition to the Town continuing its existing water rights, Save the World’s Rivers’ actions clearly communicated to the Town that Save the World’s Rivers has no faith in the Rights of Nature and Guardians process that they proposed. And further, that Save the World’s Rivers has no desire to partner constructively with communities that adopt Rights of Nature, including the Town of Nederland, or trust those communities to make good decisions for our citizens, neighbors and the environment.

Prior to and after Save the World’s Rivers’ decision to file a statement of opposition to the Town’s diligence application, Town of Nederland Mayor Billy Giblin spoke with Mr. Wockner and later to one of the Town’s newly-appointed Guardians about the opposition filing. After, Mayor Giblin was instructed by Mr. Wockner not to talk with the Guardians about this matter. Following these interactions, it seemed likely to Mayor Giblin that Save the World’s Rivers may try to control the Guardian process and this would not lead to the productive two-way dialogue that would help the Town make sound decisions. Rather, it would be more likely to stir up confusion and controversy in the community or be used against the Town in a litigation context. It appears Save the World’s Rivers’ interests in Rights of Nature are more for its own publicity and motives, rather than to implement useful decision-making processes to produce better outcomes in the Town of Nederland or other communities.

In response, Mayor Giblin stated, “In my opinion, an outside organization such as Save the World’s Rivers is not the kind of partner the Town needs. Frankly, our community can and will do this more effectively. I attempted to engage with Mr. Wockner to initiate a cooperative dialogue between the Town and Mr. Wockner’s organizations in order to discuss some of his concerns. However, Mr. Wockner and Save the World’s Rivers chose to pursue litigation against the Town rather than engage in any meaningful conversation. It has become clear that Mr. Wockner and Save the World’s Rivers are more interested in litigating, at the expense of the Town, rather than understanding the Town’s existing water rights or our plans to develop these rights in an environmentally conscious manner.”

Water supply planning is complex, and the Town has dedicated itself to understanding its water supply portfolio, its current and future needs, as well as how climate change, mining and wildfire risks may impact water security. The Town has considered a number of options to deliver a robust and secure water supply to the Town today and for the next generations, while balancing and minimizing environmental impacts.

Utilities Manager Andrew Bliss explains, “We have a small crew of four who operate Nederland’s water system to deliver clean water 24/7/365. Several long days and late nights have been spent working on Middle Boulder Creek to draw enough water to meet the needs of the Nederland community during times of low flows. Having a more resilient water portfolio that includes some form of upstream storage that we can physically release during times of low flow in Middle Boulder Creek is by far Nederland’s most important infrastructure need. Spending more of our rate payers’ money to litigate water rights will take funds away from addressing the Town’s real needs.”

The Town is not seeking a new water right. Its current diligence application is a routine filing to continue its existing conditional water right. This right would allow the Town to develop critical upstream storage that would be less than 1% of the size of Barker Meadow Reservoir. Following the diligence process, the Town will continue to develop this right in an environmentally responsible manner.

Through this process, the Town of Nederland Board of Trustees determined that any continued association with a litigation-first outside organization like Save the World’s Rivers is more likely to tie the Town’s hands arbitrarily than produce the best outcomes for the Town and the environment. The Town of Nederland Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to repeal the Rights of Nature and Guardians resolutions. The Town Trustees acknowledge that it was a very difficult decision, and that this decision in no way indicates a lack of support or consideration for the environment. However, Save the World’s Rivers filing a statement of opposition challenging Nederland’s water security forced the decision, choosing an aggressive litigation relationship with the Town over a collaborative relationship.

The Town will continue to rely on its own community members and leaders, including the Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board, to inform decision-making and exercise sound judgment.