Rocky Mountains Watersheds

Clean Water & Vibrant Habitats

The Rocky Mountains are the heart of a breathtaking landscape, with crystal-clear streams cascading through lush forests and alpine meadows. The region’s watersheds support diverse wildlife, from majestic elk to delicate wildflowers, and provide essential clean water, creating vibrant habitats.

However, many waters in the Rocky Mountains are over-diverted, dammed, and degraded. Iconic waters like Boulder Creek, the Colorado River, and the Great Salt Lake suffer due to state and federal laws treating water merely as a resource, devoid of rights or voice.

Recognizing the Rights of Watersheds

Earth Law Center (ELC) works in the Rocky Mountains to recognize the rights of watersheds and give them a voice in law. A focal point is the Boulder Creek Watershed, building from the work of Boulder Rights of Nature—one of the first community Rights of Nature groups whose mission continues through ELC. We also work in other regions, including ELC’s home watershed, the San Juan.

River Resolutions & Guardianship Bodies

We have supported four successful river rights resolutions in the Colorado towns of Nederland, Grand Lake, Ridgway, and Crestone, collaborating with Save the World’s Rivers. We also helped establish a watershed guardianship body in Nederland, the first of its kind in the U.S., although Nederland abandoned this framework in 2024 to pursue a new dam, heightening our work's importance.

ELC will continue working with Rocky Mountain communities, supporting Rights of Nature resolutions and guardianship bodies for watersheds. This will create the groundwork for the next evolution of the movement: state recognition of the Rights of Nature through laws or constitutional amendments.