Joe Neguse has been a household name to people in northern Colorado for several years. His rise into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 gave him a national platform to represent Colorado’s 2nd District - taking the seat vacated by Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

Neguse’s legal background (he earned his JD from CU Boulder in 2009), and commitments to equity, natural resource management, and the fight against climate change quickly made him an asset to Democrats seeking a counterforce to the prevailing political tendencies of the time.

Selected as part of the congressional delegation to COP25, which began the United States’ re-entry into the Paris Climate Accords, Neguse began to make waves internationally as a champion for the planet and a hero to all those working for a viable climate future. 

As he walked up the steps to the Trees, Water & People’s (TWP) office last Friday, all assembled were humbled that someone with such global standing would take the time to visit a handful of constituents working to reverse climate impacts in his own district. 

Congressman Neguse had visited the burn scar of the Cameron Peak Fire months before, with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, which let us know he was watching and well aware of the seriousness of this natural disaster for all who depend on the Poudre River Watershed. 

TWP has been one of many organizations directly involved in the restoration effort, and after coordinating with the Congressman’s office, we convened several organizations who have been devoting time, staff, and resources to restoring our watershed. 

Among us were the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW), the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition (BTWC), Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV), Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC), the Colorado State Forest Service Nursery (CSFS), and New Belgium Brewing, as one of the biggest local businesses dependent on the quality of the Poudre River’s water. 

Congressman Neguse was gracious with his time, and sincere in listening to our concerns, and learning from those whose boots are on the ground almost daily. He asked pointed questions to elicit answers that he could take back to Washington DC, to counter those that don’t see climate change as the biggest threat of our time. 

More than one member of the coalition said that they were amazed at how easy it was to converse with the Congressman, and said they felt that their contributions were valued and heard. One story that hit home, told by TWP board member Paul Thayer, related how the Civilian Conservation Corps in the depression era saved his unemployed grandfather from suicide, by giving him an income, but more importantly meaningful work. 

This story was prescient to the challenges we face as a country, and planet, today.

The scale of the work we need to do to repair climate damage - just in our local watershed - is massive. When we extrapolate that across the country to everywhere experiencing climate disaster, we and Congressman Neguse see an opportunity. An opportunity for climate-smart development, meaningful employment, and a new relationship with the natural resources that sustain us. 

We were honored to have this conversation with Congressman Neguse, if only to let him know that we are committed to advancing and actively implementing his vision on the ground. We are proud to have him representing our interests on the international stage, and hope that this was the first of many conversations of its kind.