The effort to grant “rights of nature” to Boulder Creek through Nederland as a legacy for generations to come lasted less than three years. The human guardians appointed to voice those rights lasted less than five months.
The Nederland town board voted unanimously late Tuesday to repeal a 2021 rights of nature resolution meant to give a policy voice to watershed environmental protections, in clearly stated pique at a nonprofit group opposing a dam the town wants to build on the creek’s middle branch.
Nederland board members claimed they were misled by Save the World’s Rivers and its leader Gary Wockner to bolster river protections, only to have the group file formal objections in water court to Nederland’s plan for a new reservoir on Middle Boulder Creek.
“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 tiethe town’s hands arbitrarily than produce the best outcomes for the town and the environment,” the board said in a press release sent after the vote.
The trustees also warned other Colorado towns that might need water storage to repeal or reject rights of nature initiatives or face injury from their own weapons when Wockner’s river group files more objections and court cases.
Wockner said Nederland’s rights of nature resolution did not come solely from his group, and had plenty of public support in written and verbal comments before the board’s vote.
Nor did the group’s formal water court objection to a Nederland dam have anything to do with the rights of nature resolution, Wockner said. In January, the town appointed river guardians to give a human voice to the principles of the resolution. Wockner said they were not involved in the water court objections.
Besides, he added, Nederland leaders should not pretend to be surprised that his group opposes a dam. That’s what Save the World’s Rivers and its predecessor groups have been doing for decades, questioning costs and environmental damage, filing objections and doggedly litigating lawsuits against dams and other river diversions.
“If I was concealing and tricking towns, I am a pathetic trickster,” Wockner said.
Nederland should stick to the original principles of the rights of nature idea by giving up any dam in favor of more water conservation, limiting growth or other policies, Wockner said.
“By protecting the creek and focusing on alternatives, the town could save 10 years of permits, millions of dollars of expenses, and a huge controversy,” he said.
Nederland itself has opposed Denver’s Gross Reservoir Dam expansion, and is questioning Eldora Mountain Resort’s desire for new berms and water storage in the wetlands below the ski area, Wockner noted.
“So the town is stabbing the ski area in the back, too?” Wockner said, mocking the board attacks.
One of the two appointed creek guardians, Alan Apt, opposed the board vote, and said his status was unclear. Apt is a former Nederland board member. The other guardian, retired prosecutor Rich Orman, has been traveling and declined to comment on the latest controversy.
“I think it’s a poorly understood role that ends with the repeal for me,” Apt said. “I’m staying on the Sustainability Advisory Board but will not attempt to continue in the role. I remain interested in monitoring and advocating for environmental protection as I have done most of my life, frequently with the Sierra Club.”
Some current and former board members involved in Tuesday’s meeting expressed interest in writing a new set of environmental protection policies “that is not connected to one organization.”
“This decision in no way indicates a lack of support or consideration for the environment,” the board’s official news release said.
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