Your quality of life is intertwined with having a healthy watershed. Rivers, groundwater, and every natural water source contribute to your daily living – at home, work and play.
The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP) is committed to conserving and improving watershed health for our community, visitors who support our economy, and our downstream neighbors. We need your financial support to do this.
Did you know that UWP has seven year-round contractors, including four scientists, dedicated to moving local projects forward, building partnerships, and making our work sustainable?
Our nonprofit leverages that professional support by coordinating 12 year-round volunteers who together contribute more than 100 hours per month, plus dozens of event volunteers who give an additional 600 hours per year.
UWP has several projects underway and being planned, including monthly river water sampling providing critical data to many partners, wetlands restoration with multiple benefits from groundwater connection to wildfire suppression, and erosion control that will improve recreation and water quality. Our organization sharesour knowledge of watershed science and local conditions through diverse channels, and works hard to develop community engagement activities such as field trips.
In a metaphorical sense, the train is on the tracks and the carts are loaded, but we need your help to fuel the engine! We work hard to obtain grants and organize fundraising events, but donations and memberships are critical. Our budget is approximately $150,000 in 2025, and will be about the same in 2026.
The future of our watershed depends on the generosity of caring people like you. Please donate what you can. Your donation helps us fund strategic administrative work that allows us to coordinate all of our staff, volunteers and partnerships. Plus, donations to UWP are tax deductible for eligible individuals and businesses, and donations of $250 or more are eligible for Enterprise Zone tax credits.
"Participating on a field trip with the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership is like being inside a science documentary." - Alex Shelly, San Miguel Power Association
"Thank you for teaching us about watersheds, specifically what they consist of and what they do. I also really enjoyed digging a hole and looking at all the different layers within the old reservoir what they do." - Ridgway student
"I spent a day assisting two bright young scientists. We tramped along the Uncompahgre River taking water samples. They were very knowledgeable and gave me a great introduction to their important work." - Mallory Clarke, river monitoring volunteer
The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership exists to help protect and improve the natural, scenic, and economic values of the Upper Uncompahgre River Watershed, from its headwaters to the northern Ouray county line.
Vision
Our vision is a healthy watershed, restored from past damages and adaptable to changing conditions, with a knowledgeable community dedicated to watershed protection and conservation.
The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP) was created in spring 2007, when regional groups and concerned citizens applied for a watershed-planning grant. In 2013, UWP became a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to understanding, restoring and protecting land and natural resources within the Uncompahgre Watershed. In less than a decade, UWP has led and participated in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of projects improving and protecting watershed resources though partnerships with a grassroots coalition of citizens, nonprofits, local and regional governments, and federal and state agencies. We have also been active in educating the community about water ecology and promoting awareness of watershed issues and facts.
Organization name
Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership
other names
UWP
2013
Tax id (EIN)
46-2946756
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Small Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Enterprise Zone Credit
Address
133 N. Lena Ste 3AMailing
PO Box 392Ouray County, CO, US