Guide to the Records of the Poudre River Trust

Creator: Poudre River Trust

Title: Records of the Poudre River Trust

Dates: 1891-2017

Bulk Dates: 1984-2016

Quantity: 11.5+ linear feet

Identification: WPRT

Abstract: The Poudre River Trust was established in 1984 to guide development and activity along the Poudre River corridor. The organization has been active in promoting the river's recreational amenities, historical significance, fish and wildlife habitat, and mixed-use development along the Fort Collins riverfront. The Trust has also collaborated with a wide range of local and national agencies, government and private, to bring attention to the river's historic heritage and to establish plans for its overall use and development. Collection materials include agendas, articles, brochures, clippings, correspondence, minutes, reports, maps, photographs, and audio/visual materials.

Contact Information: Water Resources Archive
Archives and Special Collections
Morgan Library
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1019 USA
Phone: 970-491-1844
Fax: 970-491-1195
Email: library_dl_specialcollections@mail.colostate.edu
URL: https://lib.colostate.edu/water

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Colorado State University Libraries online catalog. Researchers seeking materials about related subjects, persons, organizations, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

• Water use -- Colorado.
• Waterfronts -- Colorado -- Fort Collins.
• Rivers -- Colorado -- Recreational use.
• Historic sites -- Colorado.

• Poudre River Trust.

• Cache la Poudre River (Colo.)
• Cache la Poudre River National Water Heritage Area (Colo.)
• Fort Collins (Colo.)

• Photographs.
• Audiocassettes.
• Maps.
• Artifacts.

The Poudre River Trust is a non-profit organization promoting the revitalization of the Cache la Poudre River, especially those reaches flowing through Fort Collins, Colorado. The organization has been active in promoting the river's recreational amenities, its historical significance, fish and wildlife habitat, and mixed-use development along the Fort Collins riverfront.

Since its establishment in 1984, the Trust has been involved in numerous public outreach activities. During the 1990s, it sponsored educational programs and annual river-cleanup festivals. It also contributed to the creation and development of the Gustav Swanson Natural Area near downtown Fort Collins. The Trust has collaborated with a wide range of local and national agencies, government and private, to bring attention to the river's historic heritage and to establish plans for its overall use and development.

Additionally, the Trust assisted in creating land-use plans to utilize riverfront property for commercial, residential, and public purposes, within a context of the river's natural attributes and wildlife habitat. The organization also helped advance a proposal to establish the river as a National Heritage Area. In 1996, a portion of the Cache la Poudre earned the first such designation west of the Mississippi.

Though the Trust's activities diminished in the 2000s, the organization has been instrumental in raising awareness of the river's cultural heritage and importance as a public resource, while also facilitating dialogue among the various constituencies with interests in the river's condition and development. In 2017, the Poudre River Trust was absorbed into the Poudre Heritage Alliance.

The Records of the Poudre River Trust consists of documents dated 1891 to 2017, with the bulk falling from 1984 to 2016. The collection's contents represent not only the Trust's own operations, but also interactions among the many constituencies with a stake in the river's development. Operations of the Trust itself are highlighted by minutes, agendas, and items related to the organization's finances and personnel. Because of the collection's multiple origins (the contents were originally accumulated by three separate individuals), these materials sometimes appear in several locations within the collection. Especially noteworthy are materials documenting the Trust's inception, objectives, and goals.

The collection also includes items related to other constituencies with interests in the Cache la Poudre River. Bureau of Reclamation reports detail investigations of the river's attributes and resources, while historical evaluations summarize changes to the river over time. Also documented are a variety of activities and perspectives related to the river's status and anticipated future, including local river-cleanup efforts and municipal plans for riverfront development, as well as state and federal deliberations leading to the 1996 federal designation of the river corridor as a National Heritage Area. Also included are numerous unarranged newspaper clippings chronicling various environmental issues, water development, land preservation, and other activities affecting the Cache la Poudre and Colorado's northern Front Range. Material types include correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, articles, reports, financial documents, newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, artifacts, audio/visual items, brochures, promotional materials, and an interview with previous and current board members.

The collection consists of 5 series in 9 boxes and 5 oversize folders:

• Series 1: Organizational files, 1891-2017 and undated
• Series 2: Photographs, 1994-1997 and undated
• Series 3: Audio/visual materials, 1997-1998, 2017, and undated
• Series 4: Artifacts, 1995-1998 and undated
• Series 5: Oversize, 1962-1999 and undated

Records of the Poudre River Trust, Water Resources Archive, Colorado State University.

The Records of the Poudre River Trust, which includes files from Joe Rowan, Howard Alden, and Brian Werner, was donated to the Water Resources Archive by Brian Werner in July 2007. Brian Werner donated an envelope of additional materials in January 2014 and an additional box in April 2017. Graduate student Hailey Groo was hired to write a history of the Trust, and this was added in August 2017.

Work on the original portion of this collection was completed in April 2008. Materials include files from three individuals: Joe Rowan, Howard Alden, and Brian Werner. These files were combined into a single arrangement. Loose documents were filed with similar materials, as were documents within untitled folders. When no file existed for a particular subject, one was created--these titles appear within brackets. Original order and grouping of material types were maintained wherever possible. Exact duplicates beyond two copies were removed, as were blank forms and commonly available publications. All materials were rehoused in acid-free containers.

Processing involved removing metal fasteners and binders; plastic clips were used where needed. Acidic papers were interleaved with acid-free paper, except in folders containing only newspaper clippings. Photographs were sleeved and placed in folders, audio/visual items were rehoused in archival cases, and artifacts were stored in folders or special boxes. Oversized items were prepared for storage in flat files. Photocopies of membership checks from private individuals were removed to preserve confidentiality of personal financial information. Copies of checks from major businesses and civic institutions were re-copied with banking account information blacked out, after which the original documents were shredded.

Processing of the 2014 addition was completed in June 2014. Duplicates and a folder of a marketing organization's materials were discarded. The new folders were added at the end of Box 7. Processing of the 2017 addition was completed in May 2017. Duplicates were discarded. Folders in Box 5 and Box 6 were condensed, and new folders were added at the end of Box 7.

Some materials have been digitized and are available through the Colorado State University Libraries website. In the electronic version of this document, direct links appear in context.