CWA Honors Richard Fox with Leadership Award

On his recent trip to a meeting of the Colorado Watershed Assembly (CWA) in Vail, Assembly members surprised TWP’s National Director Richard Fox with an award for his work. Richard founded the CWA and was pivotal to its success for its first few years; the CWA honored Richard for his “extraordinary leadership and persistence.” He also managed to build an organization that is now sustainable without his oversight, the ultimate goal and challenge for any visionary. His new plaque reads, “… we would not be where we are without your dedication, weird humor and passion. The rivers of Colorado are better due to your efforts.” Way to go Richard!

Henry Red Cloud in Washington, D.C.

Henry Red Cloud, TWP’s Pine Ridge Coordinator and the founder of Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), has been recognized as a 2009 Innovative Idea Champion by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). Henry left today for Washington, D.C. to present his concepts of renewable energy on tribal lands at the CFED’s 2009 Innovation Summit. Accompanied by TWP National Director Richard Fox and TWP Board President Jon Becker, Henry will engage with other innovators to shape and advance next-generation solutions addressing today’s unprecedented economic uncertainty. This great honor has provided Henry, Richard, and Jon a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet with key figures in Washington to gain support for renewable energy for Native Americans – “a new way to honor the old ways.” Safe travels Henry, Richard, and Jon!

Compliments to TWP's Watershed Health Program

We wanted to share this particularly nice compliment to TWP's Protecting the Water of the Arid West (PWAW) program from one of our training participants:

I was struggling. My watershed group had just learned that we would have to address much more stringent water quality standards and we had no money with which to work. I knew we’re going to have to engage the public if we’re ever going to be successful. But how? Out of the blue an e-mail came from Trees, Water & People inviting me to attend a free training to learn how to tell stories effectively. Under the tutelage of a skilled trainer, I learned to tell my fascinating stories in a way that engages others. My watershed group is well on its way to solving its funding issues. Not bad for a day’s work.


Through PWAW, we regularly provide training and development assistance to watershed groups, like this person’s, throughout the Interior West. With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this two-year program has helped these groups to grow sustainably and continue the protection of precious water resources.