Why It Matters: Friends of the Teton River

“To lead people, walk beside them.
…as for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
When the best leader’s work is done the people say,
‘We did it ourselves!’”  ―Lao Tzu

The Tin Cup Challenge has led the way as Teton Valley’s biggest philanthropic event for twelve years by empowering the community to come together in support of local nonprofit organizations. Similarly, at Friends of the Teton River (FTR), we are focused on empowering our community to take an active role in protecting and improving the water resources we all share. Your contributionthrough the Tin Cup will help us continue to have the capacity to lead efforts for clean water and healthy streams. 

In order to reach a future in which all members of the community understand the importance of our shared water resources, it is critical that we “walk beside” the leaders within in our community—to listen and learn; to leverage our expertise and resources where they are needed most; and to cultivate a shared sense of responsibility for the Teton River watershed.

FTR depends on your Tin Cup dollars to keep our staff working in our streams and in our classrooms, in the field and in our office; so that we can keep conserving the watershed we love. We count on the Tin Cup donations of over 200 individuals/families for nearly half of our operational funds each year. Thank you for supporting collaboration, participation, and fundraising that helps keep us leading the way for watershed conservation by walking (or running) together. Big or small, your Tin Cup contribution makes a difference in what we can accomplish.

How are we leading watershed conservation?

We offer community education that helps K-12 students and adults develop an understanding of water-related issues. Our aim is to cultivate a community of river stewards, informed citizens, and decision-makers.

We are working beside agricultural leaders to develop projects that are having a measurable impact on the ecological health of the Teton Watershed. We are leveraging our fundraising and research expertise to support local farmers and ranchers who are putting conservation and agricultural best management practices on the ground to improve water quality, soil health, and economic returns.  

We are a community resource providing public services like well water testing kits; technical assistance for stream restoration, and information on floodplain map revisions.

We share cutting edge data and research with agencies and fisheries managers, so that the most up-to-date science can be used to lead conservation and protection efforts for streams and native trout.

We collaborate with others to leverage success.We have been able to take on larger scale projects, like the Teton Creek Corridor Projectand the recent Teton River Recreation and Use Survey by sharing leadership and funding with partners such as the Teton Regional Land Trust and the Henry’s Fork Foundation.

We invest in the community and livelihoods.Healthy ecosystems and economies thrive together, and FTR works hard to bring grant dollars and programs to Teton Valley that will be re-invested with local contractors, businesses, and individuals who are implementing on-the-ground watershed improvements.  

Conserving our water resources takes leaders like you. Thanks for walking beside us and for leading the way!