Crystal Clear and Beautiful, but Endangered

By Jessie Thomas-Blate, Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers

Today is Crystal River Day! The Crystal River appeared as #8 on American Rivers’ 2012 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers. Today we are talking about ways to help the Crystal River in order to give it a boost on the road to Wild and Scenic River designation.

The Crystal River is one of the last free-flowing rivers in Colorado. Such a resource in the western U.S. is both a rarity and a true treasure. The Crystal is a tributary to the Colorado River by way of the Roaring Fork River. It boasts beautiful mountain vistas, scenic wilderness areas, adventurous paddling and fishing, and supplies drinking water to thousands of Colorado residents. However, the river is threatened with a harmful dam project that could change the river forever.

We have seen coverage of this river listing in articles from the Aspen Business Journal, Aspen Daily New, Aspen Times, and Colorado Independent. A great column in the Aspen Daily News by Steve Skinner was also published last week.

On May 15, we had a press conference on the river led by Matt Rice, our Colorado Director. Matt was joined by an array of partners, including Gail Schwartz (Colorado State Senator), Roger Wilson (Colorado State Representative), George Newman (Pitkin County Commissioner), William Jochems (Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association), and Sharon Clarke (Roaring Fork Conservancy). As a result, we have seen video and audio coverage on KBUT, KDNK, KUNC, and KJCT. You can also see Matt Rice talking about the river listing at the press conference!

Continue reading.

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TAKE ACTION NOW!

Protect the Crystal River from a harmful dam project referred to as the West Divide Project by encouraging local water districts to abandon their water rights!