Our story.
Born from the basin. Built on partnership.
Built by this basin.
To serve this basin.
Colorado’s Water Plan established Basin Roundtables across the state to bring local voices together around water challenges. In the Arkansas Basin, as wildfires grew more frequent and severe, Roundtable members recognized a gap: there was plenty of planning, but not enough capacity to do the on-the-ground work of protecting forests, restoring rivers, and helping communities prepare.
ARWC was created to fill that gap. Established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2017, the organization began as an all-volunteer effort focused on wildfire recovery. After hiring its first executive director in 2019, ARWC quickly evolved to tackle the full spectrum of watershed health — from proactive forest treatments and stream restoration to community engagement and basin-wide planning.
Today, ARWC operates across the entire 28,000-square-mile basin with an office in Salida and program managers serving Lake County, the Middle Arkansas, and expanding areas of the basin. We’re not outsiders asking to help. We were built by this basin’s own water community to turn shared challenges into coordinated action.
Why we exist.
A shared mission for a shared resource.
Our Mission
ARWC unites partners and communities across the Arkansas Basin to restore landscapes, reduce wildfire risk, and protect water resources.
Our Vision
A resilient Arkansas River Basin sustained by strong communities and thriving landscapes.
What guides us.
Five values at the heart of everything we do.
Collaboration
We bring people together to create collective solutions.
Integrity
We approach every project with transparency, accountability, and respect.
Resilience
We strengthen both landscapes and the communities that depend on them.
Innovation
We seek creative, science-based approaches tailored to local needs.
Place-Based
We serve the people and places that make this region special.
The basin we protect.
28,000 square miles of mountains, forests, farmland, and communities.
A watershed is all the land where water drains to a single river. The Arkansas River Basin is the largest in Colorado — stretching from above 14,000 feet near Leadville to the Kansas border. What happens on a mountainside in the upper basin affects a farm field hundreds of miles downstream. That connection is why basin-wide coordination matters.
The basin provides water to over one million Coloradans, supports 737,000 acres of irrigated farmland, contains a 102-mile Gold Medal fishery, and hosts the most-rafted river in the world. Its population is expected to grow by up to 61% by 2050. Protecting this resource isn’t optional — it’s essential.
Transparent by design.
Our financials, open to the public.
ARWC is committed to sound financial stewardship and full transparency. Our audited financials and tax filings are publicly available, and we maintain ratings with Candid/GuideStar and Charity Navigator.
Learn more about ARWC.
Explore the team, our finances, and where we’re headed.
Stay connected to the basin.
River reports, project updates, and ways to get involved.