Dang it, wrote about this yesterday and forgot to mention the upcoming rally.
If you missed the first rally on the steps of the EPA office in Denver last month, don’t fret, the Defend the Colorado gang has scheduled another Rally for the River this Wednesday. Sinjin Eberle (interview here) was one of the speakers immortalized in this image; if you look carefully to his left at least one guy even brought pizza.
From the Colorado TU site….
Join us at the Rally for Upper Colorado River and help deliver a giant postcard to the Governor asking for his help protecting our rivers!
Who: Sportsmen, hikers, campers, rafters, kayakers, wildlife enthusiasts–anyone who cares about our state’s rivers and outdoor quality of life
Why: To ask Gov. Hickenlooper to use his authority to protect the Upper Colorado River from expanded diversions such as Windy Gap and Moffat
Where: Colorado State Capitol building, downtown Denver, west steps
When: Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 11 a.m. to noon
A River on the Brink – Colorado’s namesake river is fighting for its life. A water diversion proposal could reduce the Upper Colorado River’s flows to less than 20 percent of its historic levels. As currently proposed, the Windy Gap Firming Project fails to include measures that will keep the Colorado cold, clean and healthy below Windy Gap—a stretch of the river that sustains local agriculture, mountain communities, and a thriving recreation economy. Unless the Upper Colorado receives stronger protections, this once-mighty river faces a long, continued decline and a potential ecological collapse.
Our Defend the Colorado coalition’s recent January rally in front of EPA building was a huge, noisy success, with more than 100 sign-carrying, chanting supporters calling on EPA to “be a hero” for the river (see photo above). A few weeks later, EPA issued a letter that fully vindicated and supported our position on the need for further river protections in the Windy Gap Firming Project.
Now the ball is in Gov. Hickenlooper’s court—he has a chance to use his bully pulpit to tell state and federal officials to “do the right thing” for the river and recommend additional protection.
