Acknowledgements Organizations - Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA) – oversight and coordination - Poudre Learning Center – staff support and facilities use - National Park Service – oversight and technical support - City of Fort Collins – information source, staff support and facilities use - City of Greeley – information source, staff support and coordination - Larimer County – information source, staff support, provision of information - Town of Timnath – information source, - Weld County – information source, - Town of Windsor – information source, staff support, facilities use Consultants - Belt Collins – contractor for interpretive plan - Root House Design Studio (Mimi Mather, project manager) – subcontractor for interpretive plan - Holden McClure (Susan Walsh, project manager) – subcontractor for marketing portions of interpretive plan Staff - Members of the PHA Board – plan review, oversight, coordination, info source - Chris Kennedy, City of Greeley – management plan project manager - Susan Boyle, National Park Service (retired) – historical and interpretive research - Brandon Gossard, City of Greeley – mapping, data analysis, document production - Greta Steinmetz, City of Greeley – administrative support and document production - Tammy Rusch, Poudre Learning Center – general administrative support - Melanie Pierz, City of Fort Collins – general administrative support - Jeffrey Boring, Larimer County Open Space – general input - Zoe Wyman, City of Fort Collins Open Space – general input - Mike Sidwell, Poudre River Trail Manager – general input - Town of Windsor facilities staff – technical support, meeting setup - City of Fort Collins facilities staff – technical support, meeting setup - Colorado Welcome Center facilities staff – technical support, meeting setup Cache la Poudre River NHA Management Plan Page | i Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area Management Plan Table of Contents ____________________________________________________________ Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... i How to Use this Document .............................................................................................. v Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 1 VOLUME 1: FOUNDATIONS The National Heritage Area Program: An Overview ................................................. 16 Overview of Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area .................................... 20 Public Involvement ............................................................................................. 23 Cache la Poudre River NHA Map ....................................................................... 25 Timeline .............................................................................................................. 26 Pre-history and History of the Poudre ....................................................................... 27 Development of Modern Water Law on the Cache la Poudre .................................. 39 The Natural Environment ............................................................................................ 49 Colorado Piedmont ............................................................................................. 50 Climate ............................................................................................................... 51 Table 1: Modern Climatic Conditions .......................................................... 51 Table 2: Historic Climatic Conditions .......................................................... 52 Flora and Fauna ................................................................................................. 52 Table 3: Important Poudre Area Flora ........................................................ 53 Table 4: Important Poudre Area Fauna ...................................................... 54 Historical Ecological Change .............................................................................. 55 The Modern Cache la Poudre - A Snapshot of Today’s Land Uses ........................ 58 Ditches, Canals and Agriculture ......................................................................... 58 Table 5: CALA Acreage by Land Use Type and County ............................. 59 Public Lands ....................................................................................................... 60 Mineral Extraction and Other Business Uses ..................................................... 60 Residential .......................................................................................................... 61 Land Use Maps ............................................................................................. 62-64 Resource Inventory .................................................................................................... 65 Overview Map ..................................................................................................... 66 Cache la Poudre River NHA Management Plan Page | ii Upper Poudre Natural and Recreation Areas .................................................................... 67 Cultural, Educational and Historic Landmarks ............................................ 76 Infrastructure: Ditches, Canals, Dams and Bridges .................................... 78 Heritage and Recreational Events and Activities ........................................ 80 Upper Poudre Map ..................................................................................... 82 Lower Poudre Natural and Recreation Areas .................................................................... 83 Cultural, Educational and Historic Landmarks ............................................ 86 Heritage and Recreational Events and Activities ........................................ 89 Infrastructure: Ditches, Canals, Dams and Bridges .................................... 92 Lower Poudre Map ..................................................................................... 94 Complementary Organizations: Identifying Potential Partners .............................. 95 Potential Partners ............................................................................................... 95 Local Organizations .................................................................................... 96 Regional, State, and National Organizations .............................................. 96 Early Action Projects ........................................................................................ 108 Relationship with Federal government and other agencies .............................. 111 Duties and Actions ............................................................................................ 115 Duties of Poudre Heritage Alliance ........................................................... 117 Related Planning Efforts ................................................................................... 119 VOLUME 2: OPERATIONS Vision and Mission Statements................................................................................ 123 Interpretive Plan What is Interpretation? ............................................................................. 124 Statement of Significance ......................................................................... 124 Framework and Overarching Theme ................................................................ 126 Primary Themes and Storylines ........................................................................ 126 Audience .......................................................................................................... 133 Existing Interpretation within the CALA ............................................................ 134 Goals, Objectives and Action Steps ........................................................................ 137 Goal 1: Organizational Capacity ....................................................................... 138 Goal 2: Story-Telling ......................................................................................... 140 Goal 3: Striking a Balance ................................................................................ 142 Goal 4: Planning for Tourism ............................................................................ 144 Interpretation Implementation Strategies and Branding Initiatives ...................... 145 Interpretive Media Development ....................................................................... 145 Programming and Partnering............................................................................ 150 Branding ........................................................................................................... 155 Specific Commitments for Implementation ............................................................ 159 Implementation Priorities & Planning Level Cost Estimates Priority Actions .................................................................................................. 162 Short-Term Priorities ........................................................................................ 164 Cost Estimates Chart ................................................................................ 165 Cache la Poudre River NHA Management Plan Page | iii Implementation Measures ...............................................................................