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DARCA Conference Postponed
Dear DARCA attendee and/or sponsor;
For many years we have put on an annual conference. This has been a gathering that we look forward to every year. The connections, perspectives, and experiences shared each year is unmatched. The board and staff have felt a pull lately that we need to take a good look at where we are headed and what we are offering our members and sponsors as your nonprofit. With that in mind, we have declared that the time is now to determine DARCA's future with your help. To do this well, the Board has decided to postpone the conference until November 2023.
We are going to be really intentional over the next few months. We want to hear from you. We want to know what you love about us, but also where we are missing the mark. We want to know what value we do and can provide for you as our members and sponsors. Really, without you, we wouldn't be here. Our mission and vision is centered around you and now that a global pandemic is (fingers crossed) in the past, we want to make sure we are doing right by you.
We see this as a need rather than a goal. We want to know all of our members and sponsors, what you need, what we can do with and for you, and where you want us to go. With that being said, we cannot in good faith hold a conference with information that we think you want to know without first consulting you. We already have the dates picked out so don't think for a second we are canceling and that we don't want to hold the most exciting and worthwhile meetings of the year, but we know that we value you. Talking with all of you and being there for you is just too important right now.
We understand that this comes with a bit of a shock and with interrupted plans. We are so sorry for that. We know you look forward to this as much as we do so we know there will be some feelings around the decision, but we do hope you understand.
We always have the proverbial door open, but in this season, we hope that you take some time to truly connect with us. Our ears are open and we are hoping for some really meaningful conversations. If you have feedback for us, problems you are facing, here are a few ways you can let us know: host us at your board meetings, invite us to coffee, call or email Amber or a Board member, or via the anonymous survey link.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We value you and we are so happy to serve you.
Irrigation Infrastructure Resource Hub
The Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance (DARCA) works closely with irrigators and other water providers in regards to advocacy, resource accessibility, and as a network for organizations to provide additional support. Irrigators have indicated that they need additional support to overcome challenges such as a lack of capacity to create a multi-benefit project, to write and manage grants and other funding streams, and to navigate system modernization with all of the challenges that a ditch company may face.
River Network, a sponsor and partner of DARCA, found similar challenges arose in their conversations around stream management planning and other projects. In response to this need, River Network launched a two-year pilot program to provide agriculture organizations in two regions that were identified as having a gap in capacity: the Yampa and Southwest basins. The pilot provides resources to organizations in these two regions to build capacity to increase the quantity and quality of multi-benefit projects on private lands.
This resource hub provides a one-stop-shop for resources to irrigators and other DARCA members and stakeholders and allows a ditch, reservoir, or irrigation company or stakeholder the opportunity to gather resources for additional capacity building and to gather ways to take a project from single benefit to multi-benefit that also modernizes the system to cut down on maintenance costs while creating many benefits to the overall system.
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