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Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Environmental Era
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Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Environmental Era
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Year
2005
Title
Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Environmental Era
Author
Colorado Foundation for Water Education
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Other
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I "A <br />nity and incline them to use it recreation- <br />ally as well as residentially and occupation- <br />ally. Since then, Boulder has expanded its <br />Greenway to follow Boulder Creek from <br />its mountain canyon out onto the plains. <br />Among other novelties, the Boulder Creek <br />Trail offers a fish observatory where a sunk- <br />en stretch of trail leads down to a glass <br />walled look into the creek bottom. <br />While the South Platte and its tributar- <br />ies are pacesetting efforts to turn water- <br />ways into walkways, progress is slower in <br />rural northeastern Colorado. River trek- <br />kers there more often follow roads than <br />paths. Yet there are bright spots such as <br />Fort Morgan's restoration of its fabulous <br />Rainbow Bridge as a pedestrian crossing <br />over the South Platte. <br />Arkansas River <br />The Arkansas River became the second <br />greatest immigrant trail into Colorado while <br />doubling as the Santa Fe Trail. Agricultural <br />towns such as Holly, Lamar, Las Animas, <br />Rocky Ford and La Junta sprang up along <br />the river, as did the urban centers of Pueblo <br />and Canon City. Upstream in the moun- <br />tains, Leadville, the state's second largest <br />city in 1880, soon filled the Arkansas River <br />headwaters with the refuse from the state's <br />richest silver mining bonanza. Downstream, <br />the industrial steel city of Pueblo also abused <br />the Arkansas. <br />A dramatic turnaround for the Arkansas <br />came in 1989 when the stretch of river from <br />Granite to Pueblo Reservoir was designated <br />an Arkansas Headwaters State Recreation <br />Area. This 148 -mile park —the state's lon- <br />gest and skinniest —has transformed the <br />river into a scenic and recreational wonder. <br />Claiming to be the most rafted river in <br />America, the Arkansas is a superstar in rec- <br />reational river floating, which has been the <br />splashiest and most lucrative newcomer to <br />Colorado tourism since 1990. <br />Pueblo has outdone every other <br />Colorado city when it comes to reincarnat- <br />ing its river core. The Historic Arkansas <br />Riverwalk is a 26 -acre urban waterfront <br />in the heart of the old steel city. After the <br />1921 flood killed more than a hundred <br />people and destroyed much of the city's <br />downtown, the river was diverted through <br />a monstrous concrete canal. Now, as part <br />of an ongoing $26.6 million project, the <br />river has been partially returned to its <br />historic bed through town. Today a stroll <br />or boat ride along the Riverwalk traverses <br />public plazas, the Sangre de Cristo Arts & <br />Conference Center and the Union Avenue <br />In the Canon City area, six miles of trails wind along the Arkansas River traversing cottonwoods <br />and wetlands and following the railroad bed through what was once a homestead and farm. Birds <br />are abundant along this quiet corridor. <br />Historic District. From the Riverwalk, the <br />Arkansas River Trail leads to City Park, the <br />Pueblo Zoo, and west to Pueblo Reservoir <br />with its water sports and fishing. <br />Colorado River <br />The Colorado River carries more <br />water than the other three rivers com- <br />bined— around two - thirds of the state's <br />steam flow in an average year. Rising <br />in Rocky Mountain National Park, the <br />Colorado is reinforced by major tributar- <br />ies such as the Blue, Gunnison, Eagle and <br />Roaring Fork rivers. Diversion of Colorado <br />River water to the thirsty Eastern Slope <br />is the most extensive and controversial <br />rearrangement of Colorado's waterways. <br />Walking along Colorado River headwa- <br />ters trails, such as Jim Creek in Grand <br />County, hikers will notice creeks disap- <br />pearing into diversion pipes bound for the <br />Front Range. Downstream states —Utah, <br />Arizona, Nevada and California —also fight <br />for Colorado River water, which is the life- <br />blood of the American Southwest. <br />The Colorado River lacks water walks <br />along most of its course, although Grand <br />Junction has begun a riverside trail system <br />that improves once - littered river banks and <br />industrial sites. The city's Colorado River <br />Trail encompasses a number of different <br />trail sections. Blue Heron is a hike -bike- <br />horse trail with a handicapped accessible <br />fishing pier. The Audubon Trail section <br />through cottonwood groves is a nature pre- <br />serve running parallel to Redlands Canal. <br />In order to extend the Audubon Trail as far <br />The Riverwalk in Pueblo moved the Arkansas <br />River channel back to its original location. <br />Pedestrian pathways and bike paths encompass <br />26 acres of urban waterfront. <br />K.,.leeeq nq or" �r ru&e r+. a near t% <br />zmd o� 4e eV a. si e f*a o� rrettq <br />Cottom-&A of Ke verYr sort tt t bw6(eer <br />Cree� t, Eeen ... reo fe in c6oZer 4 got <br />so a ee a meA to Kin' q o� tie awe 44MA <br />its as a- f4a to 11jroAt An WAS and <br />t4t it mach wire too great a <br />o� t o imagination to eoneeive o it as a q <br />slot QiK a, reed Leer ra,�- <br />�unni�9 (;&iAe t-e xllr I Axters... n <br />CJ CJ4 CSte k Jr. <br />V ;L6 <br />CITIZEN 'S GUIDE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ERA 1 13 <br />
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