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- .; • III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII • Lana Jo Chapin ' 11165 C.R. 250 Durango, Colorado 247-1541 La Plata County Commissioners pear Commissioners, It seems incredible to me that you are continuing to "approve" more gravel pits and aggregate operations even when so many facts have been called to the public's attention regarding the irreparable damage being wreaked on the Animas River Valley! Z have read that you have no criteria to deny approval to these oper- ations. Then, conversely, you must also have no criteria to rant them. Let's then, use good, solid, and far-sighted judgement as our criteria in this crucial decision making. Have any of you actually SEEN the damage being done? Do you have am idea of the MAGNITUDE of the MISTAKE that yeu are perpetuating? We are literally watching the demise of the Animas River and Valley as we know it. A few businessmen are profiting from the personal financial loss of private landpowners along the river. We are all losing much of what. we moved to La Plata County for and what thousands of tourists comae here for-the beauty and peace a~zd quiet of pastoral Animas Valley, complete with abundant wild- life. During the 1985 spring run-off, i lost over 100 feet deep along the length of nrf property which borders the Animas River. This tremendous loss happened in a shockingly un-natural short time as I watched my lovely beach wash into a downstream gravel collection pit. Later, after the aggregate companies h<id harvested our acreage out of their pits, we had to watch and listen to them as they crushed it and trucked it away for their own profit. Would any of you tolerate this blatant mis-use of mining permits if you had sufferer] this kind of loss due to others actions? I doubt it-yet you continue to "approve" more destruction! Prior to the 1985 runoff, a downstream aggregate company (Animas Agg.) was active :in the river, preparing for their annual rock harvest. When my neighbors and I appealed to the County Conmissioners (after being directed there by then Cocp. of Engineers as a starting place) for help, Animas Aggre- gates was a]-so at the meeting and quickly offerred to help "repair" the damage they had caused which left us extremely vulnerable to further erosion. in a cooperative effort which included the Corp. of Engineers, Colorado Fish 6 Game, U.S. Division of Wildlife, U.S. Soil Conservation and adjacent neighbors, a** two-phase plan to prohibit further damage and restore soil to the site was drafted and approved. A mining permit for the work to be done was procured in the name of all the adjacent landowners. Work was done by Burnett Construc- tion and Animas Aggregates, on their time. Phase one was begun and has left an area that: looks like a grvel pit. So, you see, we lost again! The elk can no longer amble along the riverbank. The huge old ponderosas are gone so we now have a clear view and sound of the destruction company across the river as they continue to suck my neighbors and my own land off teh banks and into collection pits for a profitable harvest. If I could even ec~t to the riverbank, without breaking my legs or neck, I would find no sunny beach as when Z purchased my homeplace and would be looking down 10'-20' at a river that's entice elevation has been drastically lowered. ** add: Animas water Company, and Ute Engineering,